ARTICLE 5. Roster [2183 - 2194.1]
( Heading of Article 5 amended by Stats. 2017, Ch. 806, Sec. 12. )
(a) The elections official shall supply an electronic copy, or paper copy upon request, of the roster and of supplements to the roster, necessary to bring it up to date, for all elections to be held within the county. The county elections official shall also supply copies of the roster and supplements as may be requested by the elections official of a city, school district, or other body. The name of each voter whose affidavit of registration has been canceled shall be removed from the roster and supplement. The county elections official may charge an amount sufficient to reimburse the county for the expense incurred in preparing and furnishing the roster and supplements.
(b) (1) The roster shall contain the name, address, residence telephone number if furnished, and political party preference of each voter, and also a ruled space to the left of each name, within which to write, in figures, the line number designating the position of the name of the voter.
(2) The name shall include the given name and the middle name or initials, if any. At the affiant’s option, the given name may be preceded by the designation “Miss,” “Ms.,” “Mrs.,” or “Mr.”
(Amended by Stats. 2017, Ch. 806, Sec. 13. (SB 286) Effective January 1, 2018.)
Upon request of any Member of the Legislature, of Congress, or any candidate who is to be voted for in the county, in a city therein, or in a political subdivision of either, or upon written demand of his or her campaign committee, of any committee for or against any proposed ballot measure, or of any committee for or against any referendum or initiative measure for which legal publication has been made, the county elections official shall furnish to the Member of the Legislature, of Congress, or to either the candidate or his or her campaign committee or to the ballot measure committee the roster for the primary and general elections in which the Member of the Legislature or Congress may participate as a candidate, or for the election in which the candidate
will participate, or the ballot measure will be voted upon, at a charge of fifty cents ($0.50) per thousand names. All moneys collected shall be deposited in the county treasury to the credit of the general fund.
(Amended by Stats. 2017, Ch. 806, Sec. 14. (SB 286) Effective January 1, 2018.)
Upon written request of the chair or vice chair of a party state central committee or of the chair of a party county central committee, the county elections official shall furnish to each committee, without charge therefor, the roster for the primary and general elections, for any special election at which a partisan office is to be filled, or for any statewide special election. The county elections official shall furnish one copy per election in an electronic form, or in paper form upon request, of the rosters specified in this section.
(Amended by Stats. 2017, Ch. 806, Sec. 15. (SB 286) Effective January 1, 2018.)
(a) Each county elections official shall provide notice to the Secretary of State that the following information is available:
(1) The total number of voters in the county.
(2) The number registered as preferring each qualified political party.
(3) The number registered as preferring nonqualified parties.
(4) The number registered without choosing a political party preference.
(5) The number of voters by political party preferences in each of the following political subdivisions, located in whole or in part
within the county:
(A) A supervisorial district.
(B) Congressional district.
(C) Senate district.
(D) Assembly district.
(E) Board of Equalization district.
(F) Cities and unincorporated areas.
(b) The Secretary of State, within 30 days after receiving the information specified in subdivision (a), shall compile a statewide list showing the number of voters, by party preferences, in the state and in each county, city, supervisorial district, Assembly district, Senate district, and congressional district in the state. A copy of this list shall be made available,
upon request, to any elector in this state.
(c) The county elections officials shall prepare the information referenced in subdivision (a) and provide notice to the Secretary of State at the following times:
(1) On the 135th day before each presidential primary and before each direct primary, with respect to all voters who are registered voters on the 154th day before the primary election.
(2) Not less than 50 days before the primary election, with respect to all voters who are registered voters on the 60th day before the primary election.
(3) Not less than seven days before the primary election, with respect to all voters who are registered voters on the 15th day before the primary election.
(4) Not less than 102 days before each presidential general election, with respect to all voters who are registered voters on the 123rd day before the presidential general election.
(5) Not less than 50 days before the general election, with respect to all voters who are registered voters on the 60th day before the general election.
(6) Not less than seven days before the general election, with respect to all voters who are registered voters on the 15th day before the general election.
(7) On or before March 1 of each odd-numbered year, with respect to all voters who are registered voters on February 10.
(d) The Secretary of State may adopt regulations prescribing additional regular reporting times, except that the total number of reporting
times in any one calendar year shall not exceed 12.
(Amended by Stats. 2018, Ch. 269, Sec. 1. (AB 3258) Effective January 1, 2019.)
(a) Any application for voter registration information available pursuant to law and maintained by the Secretary of State or by the elections official of any county shall be made pursuant to this section.
(b) The application shall set forth all of the following:
(1) The printed or typed name of the applicant in full.
(2) The complete residence address and complete business address of the applicant, giving street and number. If no street or number exists, a postal mailing address as well as an adequate designation sufficient to
readily ascertain the location.
(3) The telephone number of the applicant, if one exists.
(4) The number of the applicant’s driver’s license, state identification card, or other identification approved by the Secretary of State if the applicant does not have a driver’s license or state identification card.
(5) The specific information requested.
(6) A statement of the intended use of the information requested.
(c) If the application is on behalf of a person other than the applicant, the applicant shall, in addition to the information required by subdivision (b), set forth all of the following:
(1) The name of the person, organization, company, committee,
association, or group requesting the voter registration information, including their complete mailing address and telephone number.
(2) The name of the person authorizing or requesting the applicant to obtain the voter registration information.
(d) The elections official shall request the applicant to display his or her identification for purposes of verifying that identifying numbers of the identification document match those written by the applicant on the application form.
(e) The applicant shall certify to the truth and correctness of the content of the application, under penalty of perjury, with the signature of his or her name at length, including given name, middle name or initial, or initial and middle
name. The applicant shall state the date and place of execution of the declaration.
(f) Completed applications for voter registration information shall be retained by the elections official for five years from the date of application.
(g) This section shall not apply to requests for information by elections officials for election purposes or by other public agencies for governmental purposes.
(h) The Secretary of State may prescribe additional information to be included in the application for voter registration information.
(i) A county may not provide information for any political subdivision that is not wholly or partially contained within that county.
(Amended by Stats. 2015, Ch. 728, Sec. 46. (AB 1020) Effective January 1, 2016. Operative September 26, 2016, when the Secretary of State issued the certification prescribed by Stats. 2015, Ch. 728, Sec. 88.)
The Secretary of State may insert fictitious names of voters into the voter registration information database as an investigative and enforcement tool for determining inappropriate or unauthorized uses of voter registration information.
(Amended by Stats. 2015, Ch. 728, Sec. 47. (AB 1020) Effective January 1, 2016. Operative September 26, 2016, when the Secretary of State issued the certification prescribed by Stats. 2015, Ch. 728, Sec. 88.)
(a) The Secretary of State shall adopt regulations that describe the best practices for storage and security of voter registration information received by an applicant pursuant to Section 2188.
(b) The Secretary of State may require an applicant to take a training course regarding data security as a condition for the receipt of voter registration information if that course is made available to the applicant at no cost to the applicant.
(Amended by Stats. 2019, Ch. 106, Sec. 1. (AB 1044) Effective January 1, 2020.)
A person or entity who has received voter registration information pursuant to an application made under Section 2188 shall, following discovery or notification of a breach in the security of the storage of the information, disclose the breach in security to the Secretary of State. The disclosure shall be made in the most expedient time possible and without unreasonable delay.
(Added by Stats. 2018, Ch. 96, Sec. 2. (AB 1678) Effective July 16, 2018.)
(a) A person who requests voter information pursuant to Section 2188 or who obtains signatures or other information collected for an initiative, referendum, political party qualification, or recall petition shall not send that information outside of the United States or make it available in any way electronically to persons outside the United States, including, but not limited to, access over the Internet.
(b) For purposes of this section, “United States” includes each of the several states of the United States, the District of Columbia, and the territories and possessions of the United States.
(Amended by Stats. 2015, Ch. 728, Sec. 48. (AB 1020) Effective January 1, 2016. Operative September 26, 2016, when the Secretary of State issued the certification prescribed by Stats. 2015, Ch. 728, Sec. 88.)
Before the first day of the opening of the polls for any election held throughout the county, the county elections official shall deliver to the precinct board in each precinct at least one printed or electronic copy of the roster for that polling place, with canceled names lined out or otherwise indicated and with necessary supplements to bring the roster up to date.
(Amended by Stats. 2017, Ch. 806, Sec. 16. (SB 286) Effective January 1, 2018.)
(a) Upon request, the elections official shall compile a voter list or file, by precinct, of all persons who voted in previous elections. This information shall be compiled in conjunction with the purge of voter registration files conducted pursuant to Article 2 (commencing with Section 2220) of Chapter 3.
(b) Information compiled pursuant to this section shall include the information that is required to appear in the index as set forth in Section 2183.
(c) Any person, candidate, or committee who is entitled to obtain a copy of any information contained in this article shall, upon written request to the elections official, be
entitled to obtain the voter list or file compiled pursuant to this section. The elections official shall inform any recipient of this information whether the voter list or file includes a voting history of vote by mail voters. The elections official may require the payment of a fee not to exceed the cost of duplicating the information as a condition to furnishing the information contained in this section.
(Amended by Stats. 2017, Ch. 806, Sec. 17. (SB 286) Effective January 1, 2018.)
The Secretary of State shall, from the information furnished by the county elections officials pursuant to Section 2187, identify possible duplicate voter registrations. Those voter registrations determined to be duplicates shall be merged and the voter registration bearing the most recent date shall be the active record for that voter.
(Amended by Stats. 2015, Ch. 728, Sec. 52. (AB 1020) Effective January 1, 2016. Operative September 26, 2016, when the Secretary of State issued the certification prescribed by Stats. 2015, Ch. 728, Sec. 88.)
(a) Except as provided in Section 2194.1, the affidavit of voter registration information identified in Section 7924.000 of the Government Code:
(1) Shall be confidential and shall not appear on any computer terminal, list, affidavit, duplicate affidavit, or other medium routinely available to the public at the county elections official’s office.
(2) Shall not be used for any personal, private, or commercial purpose, including, but not limited to:
(A) The harassment of any voter or voter’s household.
(B) The advertising, solicitation, sale, or marketing of products or services to any voter or voter’s household.
(C) Reproduction in print, broadcast visual or audio, or display on the internet or any computer terminal unless pursuant to paragraph (3).
(3) Shall be provided with respect to any voter, subject to the provisions of Sections 2166, 2166.5, 2166.7, 2166.8, and 2188, to any candidate for federal, state, or local office, to any committee for or against any initiative or referendum measure for which legal publication is made, and to any person for election, scholarly, journalistic, or political purposes, or for governmental purposes, as determined by the Secretary of State.
(4) May be used by the
Secretary of State for the purpose of educating voters pursuant to Section 12173 of the Government Code.
(b) (1) Notwithstanding any other law, the California driver’s license number, the California identification card number, the social security number, and any other unique identifier used by the State of California for purposes of voter identification shown on the affidavit of voter registration of a registered voter, or added to voter registration records to comply with the requirements of the federal Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. Sec. 20901 et seq.), are confidential and shall not be disclosed to any person.
(2) Notwithstanding any other law, the signature of the voter shown on the affidavit of voter registration or an image thereof is confidential
and shall not be disclosed to any person, except as provided in subdivision (c).
(c) (1) The home address or signature of any voter shall be released whenever the person’s vote is challenged pursuant to Sections 15105 to 15108, inclusive, or Article 3 (commencing with Section 14240) of Chapter 3 of Division 14. The address or signature shall be released only to the challenger, to elections officials, and to other persons as necessary to make, defend against, or adjudicate the challenge.
(2) An elections official shall permit a person to view the signature of a voter for the purpose of determining whether the signature compares with a signature on an affidavit of registration or an image thereof or a petition, but shall not permit a signature to be
copied.
(d) A governmental entity, or officer or employee thereof, shall not be held civilly liable as a result of disclosure of the information referred to in this section, unless by a showing of gross negligence or willfulness.
(e) For the purposes of this section, “voter’s household” is defined as the voter’s place of residence or mailing address or any persons who reside at the place of residence or use the mailing address as supplied on the affidavit of registration pursuant to paragraphs (3) and (4) of subdivision (a) of Section 2150.
(f) Notwithstanding any other law, information regarding voters who did not sign a vote by mail ballot identification envelope or whose signature on the vote by mail ballot identification
envelope
did not compare with the voter’s signature on file shall be treated as confidential voter registration information pursuant to this section and Section 7924.000 of the Government Code. This information shall be provided with respect to any voter, subject to the provisions of Sections 2166, 2166.5, 2166.7, 2166.8, and 2188, to any candidate for federal, state, or local office, to any committee for or against any initiative or referendum measure for which legal publication is made, and to any person for election, scholarly, journalistic, or political purposes, or for governmental purposes, as determined by the Secretary of State, but otherwise shall not be disclosed to any person. Any disclosure of this information shall be accompanied by a notice to the recipient regarding Sections 18109 and 18540. Voter information provided pursuant to this subdivision shall be updated daily, include the
name of the voter, and be provided in a searchable electronic format.
(Amended by Stats. 2024, Ch. 437, Sec. 1. (AB 3184) Effective September 22, 2024.)
Any affidavit of registration information identified in Section 7924.000 of the Government Code in existence 100 years after the creation of the record shall be available to the public. If records are contained in the great registers of voters and the bound register contains information covering more than one year, the records shall not be available to the public until the entire contents of the register have been recorded for at least 100 years.
(Amended by Stats. 2021, Ch. 615, Sec. 93. (AB 474) Effective January 1, 2022. Operative January 1, 2023, pursuant to Sec. 463 of Stats. 2021, Ch. 615.)