Repealed and added by Stats. 1998, Ch. 1073, Sec. 31. Effective January 1, 1999.
This chapter applies to all elections.
Article 1 - General Provisions
California Elections Code — §§ 15300-15307
Sections (8)
Amended by Stats. 2025, Ch. 279, Sec. 4. (AB 827) Effective January 1, 2026.
(a)The canvass shall commence no later than the Thursday following the election, shall be open to the public, and, for state or statewide elections, shall result in a report of results to the Secretary of State.
(b)(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), the canvass shall be continued daily, Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays excepted, for not less than six hours each day until completed.
(2)If the only ballots that the elections official has left to count as part of the official canvass are vote by mail ballots for which a voter has been provided, or will be provided, the opportunity to verify or to
provide their signature pursuant to subdivision (d) or (e) of Section 3019, as applicable, and the elections official does not need to conduct the official canvass for at least six hours per day in order to meet the deadline for certification of results pursuant to this section and Section 15372, the official canvass may be conducted for fewer than six hours per day until completed.
Amended by Stats. 2007, Ch. 508, Sec. 101. Effective January 1, 2008.
The official canvass shall include, but not be limited to, the following tasks:
(a)An inspection of all materials and supplies returned by poll workers.
(b)A reconciliation of the number of signatures on the roster with the number of ballots recorded on the ballot statement.
(c)In the event of a discrepancy in the reconciliation required by subdivision (b), the number of ballots received from each polling place shall be reconciled with the number of ballots cast, as indicated on the ballot statement.
(d)A reconciliation of the number of ballots counted, spoiled, canceled, or invalidated due to identifying marks, overvotes, or as otherwise provided by statute, with the number of votes recorded, including vote by mail and provisional ballots, by the vote counting system.
(e)Processing and counting any valid vote by mail and provisional ballots not included in the semifinal official canvass.
(f)Counting any valid write-in votes.
(g)Reproducing any damaged ballots, if necessary.
(h)Reporting final results to the governing board and the Secretary of State, as required.
Repealed and added by Stats. 1998, Ch. 1073, Sec. 31. Effective January 1, 1999.
If the returns from any precinct are incomplete, ambiguous, not properly authenticated, or otherwise defective, the elections official may issue and serve subpoenas requiring members of the precinct board to appear and be examined under oath concerning the manner in which votes were counted and the result of the count in their precinct. This section shall apply when ballots are tabulated manually or automatically at the polls.
Repealed and added by Stats. 1998, Ch. 1073, Sec. 31. Effective January 1, 1999.
In jurisdictions using a central counting place, the elections official may appoint not less than three deputies to open the envelopes or containers with the materials returned from the precincts. If, after examination, any of the materials are incomplete, ambiguous, not properly authenticated, or otherwise defective, the precinct officers may be summoned before the elections official and examined under oath to describe polling place procedures and to correct the errors or omissions.
Added by Stats. 2019, Ch. 91, Sec. 1. (AB 566) Effective January 1, 2020.
(a)For purposes of this section, “unprocessed ballot” means a voted polling place ballot, voted vote by mail ballot, voted provisional ballot, or voted conditional registration ballot that has not yet been counted or processed for counting.
(b)On the second day after the election, an elections official shall send to the Secretary of State an initial report containing the estimated number of
outstanding unprocessed ballots.
(c)Commencing on the sixth day after the election, an elections official shall,
on any day that the elections official publicly releases updated election results, send to the Secretary of State a report on the estimated number of outstanding unprocessed ballots. The report shall be submitted to the Secretary of State in the form and manner prescribed by the Secretary of State, and the last report shall be delivered upon the completion of the official canvass.
Amended by Stats. 2025, Ch. 307, Sec. 4. (SB 3) Effective January 1, 2026.
(a)Beginning no later than the Thursday following an election, and until the time specified in subdivision (b), an elections official shall post updated information regarding the election on their internet website at least two times by the following Thursday and at least twice a week thereafter. The updates shall include at least the following information:
(1)Updated results for any candidate or measure appearing on the ballot.
(2)The number of ballots processed and an estimated number of outstanding ballots remaining unprocessed using the unprocessed ballot categories prescribed by the Secretary of State pursuant to Section 15305. This information shall be posted on either the homepage of an
election official’s internet website or on the stand-alone webpage for the specific election on an elections official’s internet website. Posting a hyperlink to a separate file containing this information does not satisfy the requirements of this subdivision.
(3)The date and time when it is expected that the next results will be posted. This information shall be posted on the homepage of an elections official’s internet website, on the stand-alone webpage for the specific election on an elections official’s internet website, or on the stand-alone website that contains updated election results for the specific election pursuant to paragraph (1). Posting a hyperlink to a separate file containing this information does not satisfy the requirements of this subdivision.
(b)The elections official may stop posting the results described in subdivision (a) when either of the following
occurs:
(1)A certified statement of results is published pursuant to Section 15372.
(2)The only ballots left to count are vote by mail ballots for which a voter has the opportunity either to verify their signature pursuant to subdivision (d) of Section 3019 or to provide their signature pursuant to subdivision (e) of Section 3019. If the elections official stops posting results for this reason, they shall post a notice stating this reason on their internet website.
(c)The requirements of this section are in addition to any other duty to report or publish information required of the elections official pursuant to this division or any other law.
Added by Stats. 2025, Ch. 250, Sec. 1. (AB 5) Effective January 1, 2026.
(a)On or before the 13th day following the election, an elections official shall finish counting all ballots, except those described in subdivision (b), and shall release the vote count for those ballots.
(b)The requirement to finish counting all ballots and release the vote count for those ballots on or before the 13th day
following the election does not apply to any of the following:
(1)A duplicate ballot prepared pursuant to Section 15210 or subdivision (c) of Section 3106.
(2)A vote by mail ballot that is forwarded to the county elections official who issued the ballot pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) of Section 3017.
(3)A vote by mail ballot for which a voter has the opportunity either to verify a signature pursuant to subdivision (d) of Section 3019 or to provide a signature pursuant to subdivision (e) of Section 3019.
(4)A provisional ballot.
(5)A ballot cast by a person who
completes a conditional voter registration pursuant to Article 4.5 (commencing with Section 2170) of Chapter 2 of Division 2.
(6)A ballot received by an elections official after the fourth day following the election.
(c)If an elections official will not meet the deadline set forth in subdivision (a), the elections official shall file a notice of extension with the Secretary of State and include the reason for the extension. Both the Secretary of State and the elections official shall post the extension filing on their respective websites.
(d)Nothing in this section alters the statutory obligations imposed by Sections 3019, 15320, 15321, and 15342 regarding
counties completing their respective vote canvasses.