California Legal Codes and Statutes

Article 3 - Intimidation of Voters

California Elections Code — §§ 18540-18548

Sections (9)

§ 18540

Amended by Stats. 2025, Ch. 296, Sec. 7. (AB 1249) Effective January 1, 2026.

(a)Every person who makes use of or threatens to make use of any force, violence, or tactic of coercion or intimidation, to induce or compel any other person to vote or refrain from voting at any election or to vote or refrain from voting for any particular person or measure at any election, or because any person voted or refrained from voting at any election or voted or refrained from voting for any particular person or measure at any election is guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170 of the Penal Code for 16 months or two or three years.
(b)Every person who hires or arranges for any other person to make use of or threaten to

make use of any force, violence, or tactic of coercion or intimidation, to induce or compel any other person to vote or refrain from voting at any election or to vote or refrain from voting for any particular person or measure at any election, or because any person voted or refrained from voting at any election or voted or refrained from voting for any particular person or measure at any election is guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170 of the Penal Code for 16 months or two or three years.

(c)For purposes of this section, “voting at any election” includes, but is not limited to, voting in person at a polling place, the office of the elections official, and satellite locations, and voting by mail and returning a voted ballot pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section

3017.

§ 18541

Amended by Stats. 2025, Ch. 296, Sec. 8. (AB 1249) Effective January 1, 2026.

(a)A person shall not, with the intent of dissuading another person from voting, within the 100 foot limit specified in subdivision (b), do any of the following:
(1)Solicit a vote or speak to a voter on the subject of marking the voter’s ballot.
(2)Place a sign relating to voters’ qualifications or speak to a voter on the subject of the voter’s qualifications except as provided in Section 14240.
(3)Photograph, video record, or otherwise record a voter entering or exiting a polling place.
(4)Obstruct ingress, egress, or parking.
(b)The activities described in subdivision (a) are prohibited within 100 feet of either of the following:
(1)The entrance to a building that contains a polling place as defined by Section 338.5, an elections official’s office, or a satellite location.
(2)An outdoor site, including a curbside voting area, at which a voter may cast or drop off a ballot.
(c)A person shall not, with the intent of dissuading another person from voting, do any of the following within the immediate vicinity of a voter in line to cast a ballot or drop off a ballot:
(1)Solicit a vote.
(2)Speak to a voter about marking the voter’s ballot.
(3)Disseminate visible or audible electioneering information.
(d)A violation of this section is punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for not more than 12 months, or in state prison. Any person who conspires to violate this section is guilty of a felony.
§ 18542

Enacted by Stats. 1994, Ch. 920, Sec. 2.

Every employer, whether a corporation or natural person, or any other person who employs, is guilty of a misdemeanor if, in paying his or her employees the salary or wages due them, encloses their pay in pay envelopes upon which or in which there is written or printed the name of any candidate or any political mottoes, devices, or arguments containing threats, express or implied, intended or calculated to influence the political opinions or actions of the employees.

§ 18543

Enacted by Stats. 1994, Ch. 920, Sec. 2.

(a)Every person who knowingly challenges a person’s right to vote without probable cause or on fraudulent or spurious grounds, or who engages in mass, indiscriminate, and groundless challenging of voters solely for the purpose of preventing voters from voting or to delay the process of voting, or who fraudulently advises any person that he or she is not eligible to vote or is not registered to vote when in fact that person is eligible or is registered, or who violates Section 14240, is punishable by imprisonment in the county jail for not more than 12 months or in the state prison.
(b)Every person who conspires to violate subdivision (a) is guilty of a felony.
§ 18544

Amended by Stats. 2011, Ch. 15, Sec. 78. (AB 109) Effective April 4, 2011. Operative October 1, 2011, by Sec. 636 of Ch. 15, as amended by Stats. 2011, Ch. 39, Sec. 68.

(a)Any person in possession of a firearm or any uniformed peace officer, private guard, or security personnel or any person who is wearing a uniform of a peace officer, guard, or security personnel, who is stationed in the immediate vicinity of, or posted at, a polling place without written authorization of the appropriate city or county elections official is punishable by a fine not exceeding ten thousand dollars ($10,000), by imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170 of the Penal Code for 16 months or two or three years, or in a county jail not exceeding one year, or by both that fine and imprisonment.
(b)This section shall not apply to any of the following:
(1)An unarmed uniformed guard or security personnel who is at the polling place to cast his or her vote.
(2)A peace officer who is conducting official business in the course of his or her public employment or who is at the polling place to cast his or her vote.
(3)A private guard or security personnel hired or arranged for by a city or county elections official.
(4)A private guard or security personnel hired or arranged for by the owner or manager of the facility or property in which the polling place is located if the guard or security personnel is not hired or arranged solely for the day on which an election is held.
§ 18545

Amended by Stats. 2025, Ch. 238, Sec. 6. (SB 851) Effective October 1, 2025.

(a)Any person who hires or arranges for any other person in possession of a firearm or any uniformed law enforcement officer, private guard, or security personnel or any person who is wearing a uniform of a law enforcement officer, guard, or security personnel, to be stationed in the immediate vicinity of, or posted at, a polling place or a county elections office without written authorization of the appropriate elections official or written authorization by a federal court order is punishable imprisonment in a county jail for a period not to exceed one year, by a fine not to exceed ten thousand dollars ($10,000), or by both that fine and imprisonment, or by imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170 of the Penal Code and by a fine not to exceed ten thousand dollars ($10,000).
(b)This section does not apply to the owner or manager of the facility or property in which the polling place is located if the private guard or security personnel is not hired or arranged solely for the day on which the election is held.
(c)For purposes of this section, “law enforcement officer” means either of the following:
(1)A peace officer as defined in Section 830 of the Penal Code.
(2)An officer or agent of a federal law enforcement agency or any person acting on behalf of a federal law enforcement agency.
§ 18546

Amended by Stats. 2002, Ch. 221, Sec. 22. Effective January 1, 2003.

As used in this article:

(a)“Elections official” means the county elections official, registrar of voters, or city clerk.
(b)“Immediate vicinity” means the area within a distance of 100 feet from the room or rooms in which the voters are signing the roster and casting ballots.
§ 18547

Added by Stats. 2007, Ch. 491, Sec. 1. Effective January 1, 2008.

(a)In addition to any other fine or penalty imposed by this article, the court may order any person convicted of violating this article to pay a restitution fine, the amount of which shall be determined by the court and be commensurate with the seriousness of the offense.
(b)The moneys derived from the fine assessed pursuant to subdivision (a) shall be deposited in the Voter Intimidation Restitution Fund, created in Section 18548.
§ 18548

Added by Stats. 2007, Ch. 491, Sec. 2. Effective January 1, 2008.

The Voter Intimidation Restitution Fund is hereby established in the State Treasury. Upon appropriation by the Legislature, moneys in the fund shall be allocated to the Secretary of State to be used in voter education campaigns addressing the specific crime committed by anyone convicted of violating this article. The funds shall also be used for the administrative costs associated with distribution of the fund.