ARTICLE 5. Protecting Elections from Armed Coercion and Extremism (PEACE) Act [18580 - 18582]
( Article 5 added by Stats. 2024, Ch. 533, Sec. 2. )
For the purposes of this article, the following definitions apply:
(a) “Firearm” means a device designed to be used as a weapon, from which a projectile is expelled through a barrel by the force of an explosion or other form of combustion. It includes any firearm that is in the nature of an air gun, spring gun or pistol, or other weapon in which the propelling force is a spring, an elastic band, carbon dioxide, compressed or other gas or vapor, or air or compressed air, or is ignited by compressed air, and that ejects a bullet or missile smaller than three-eighths of an inch in diameter with sufficient force to injure a person that is so substantially similar in coloration and overall
appearance to an existing firearm or weapon as to lead a reasonable person to perceive that the device is a firearm or weapon.
(b) “Imitation firearm” has the same meaning as in Section 16700 of the Penal Code.
(c) “Law enforcement officer” has the same meaning as in Section 13519.05 of the Penal Code.
(d) “Officer holding an election or conducting a canvass” has the same meaning as in Section 18502.
(e) (1) “Open carry” has the same meaning as in Section 26350 of the Penal Code.
(2) Notwithstanding Section 26350 of the Penal Code, this definition applies to any
firearm or imitation firearm that is openly carried and applies to any firearm that is openly carried, regardless of whether the firearm is loaded.
(f) “Voting” includes any action necessary to make a vote effective in a primary, special, or general election, including registration or other action required by law as a prerequisite to voting, casting a ballot by any method permitted by law, and having such ballot counted properly and included in the appropriate totals of votes cast with respect to a candidate or measure for which votes are received in an election.
(Added by Stats. 2024, Ch. 533, Sec. 2. (AB 2642) Effective September 24, 2024.)
(a) A person shall not intimidate, threaten, or coerce, or attempt to intimidate, threaten, or coerce, any other person for any of the following:
(1) Voting or attempting to vote.
(2) Urging or aiding any person to vote or attempt to vote, whether as part of official election administration activity or otherwise.
(3) Exercising any powers or duties to administer elections, including counting votes, canvassing, and certifying an election in accordance with Division 15.
(4) That other person’s status as a past or present participant in the administration of elections.
(b) (1) In any suit to enforce this section, a person who openly carries a firearm or imitation firearm while interacting with or observing any of the activities described in paragraphs (1) to (3), inclusive, or interacting with or observing a person due to their status described in paragraph (4), of subdivision (a) shall be presumed to have engaged in intimidation prohibited by this section in the absence of an affirmative showing to the contrary by a preponderance of the evidence.
(2) A law enforcement officer acting within the scope of their official duties is not subject to this presumption, but a court may nonetheless consider a law
enforcement officer’s possession of a firearm in determining whether the officer violated subdivision (a).
(Added by Stats. 2024, Ch. 533, Sec. 2. (AB 2642) Effective September 24, 2024.)
(a) A person aggrieved by a violation of Section 18581 may enforce the provisions of this article in a suit at law or in equity, or both. A prevailing plaintiff in such an action shall recover reasonable attorney’s fees, reasonable expert fees, reasonable litigation expenses, and all such fees as are appropriate as part of the costs to be determined by a court of competent jurisdiction.
(b) An officer holding an election or conducting a canvass may enforce the provisions of this act and may institute an action for equitable relief on behalf of an aggrieved person who is in the officer’s jurisdiction or is eligible to vote in the officer’s jurisdiction.
(c) The Attorney General may enforce the provisions of this act and may institute for the state, or in the name of the state, an action for equitable relief, including an application for a temporary or permanent injunction, restraining order, or other order.
(d) A suit brought by an officer holding an election or conducting a canvass or the Attorney General under this section does not preclude a contemporaneous private suit by an aggrieved person to enforce the provisions of this article.
(e) In a suit to enforce the provisions of this article, a court may grant relief enjoining the use or carrying of firearms by a defendant beyond the areas defined in Article 3. This subdivision does not limit the court’s authority to grant
any other just and equitable relief.
(f) In order to prevail in a suit to enforce the provisions of this article, a plaintiff need not prove that a defendant intended to intimidate, threaten, or coerce any person, except in order to prove an attempt to intimidate, threaten, or coerce. A court may nonetheless consider evidence of intent in determining the appropriate relief.
(g) The provisions of this article are cumulative and shall not be construed as restricting the application of any other law, including, but not limited to, the application of a criminal law to
a person whose conduct violates Section 18581.
(Added by Stats. 2024, Ch. 533, Sec. 2. (AB 2642) Effective September 24, 2024.)