Existing law establishes election day procedures for processing ballots following the closing of the polls. Existing law prohibits removal of a ballot container from a polling place or the presence of any persons assembled at the polling place until all the ballots are counted and prohibits the ballot container from being opened until after the polls are closed.

This bill would allow the county elections official for a county of greater than 5,000 square miles to direct that ballot containers be sealed prior to the closing of the polls in accordance with specified procedures and direct a ballot security team 2 members of the precinct board to remove from a polling place and the presence of any bystanders prior to the closing of the polls, one time during specified hours on election day, a sealed ballot container of voted untallied ballots and deliver without delay the container, unopened, to a receiving center or central counting place the county elections official or to a receiving station designated by the county elections official. This bill would require the county elections official to identify, not less than 30 days prior to an election, each precinct or polling place from which sealed ballot containers will be removed prior to the closing of the polls and would prohibit the elections official from directing that ballot containers be removed from more than 25% 3% of the precincts in the jurisdiction prior to the closing of the polls. This bill would allow the county elections official to process the ballots upon receipt of a container, but would prohibit the official from tallying the ballots or releasing any results prior to the closing of the polls.

This bill would repeal these provisions on January 1, 2017, unless legislation is enacted before that date to remove or extend that deadline.

This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.