SB73 - Elections.

Senate Bill No. 73 CHAPTER 10 An act to amend Sections 15104, 15551, 18544, 18545, 18564.5, 18568, and 19230, and to add Sections 15006, 15007, and 15553 to, the Elections Code, relating to elections, and declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect immediately. [ Approved by Governor May 27, 2026. Filed with Secretary of State May 27, 2026. ] LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST SB 73, Cervantes. Elections. (1) Existing state and federal law provides for the enforcement of laws related to elections. This bill would prohibit a peace officer from interfering with the administration of an election, as specified. This bill would authorize certain persons to enforce those prohibitions by filing a civil action, as specified. This bill would also prohibit any individual from permitting an agent of a law enforcement agency, as specified, to access, disrupt, modify, or take possession of rosters, combined rosters, or voter lists unless authorized by a court order or to investigate certain types of voting fraud. The bill would additionally require the Attorney General to provide guidance and information regarding how to respond to requests by law enforcement, as defined, to access areas where ballots are present. (2) Existing law requires an elections official, upon receiving a vote by mail ballot, to compare the signature on the identification envelope with the voter’s prior signatures, and it also provides a mechanism by which a voter can verify their signature and cure this defect. Existing law provides that the processing of vote by mail ballots is open to the public and permits specified persons and organizations to observe this processing. This bill would prohibit a vote by mail observer from challenging a signature on a vote by mail ballot that has been verified by the voter. (3) Under existing law, it is a crime for a person in possession of a firearm, a uniformed peace officer, private guard, or security personnel, or any person wearing the uniform of a peace officer, guard, or security personnel, to be stationed in the immediate vicinity of, or posted at, a polling place without authorization from the appropriate elections official. It is also a crime for a person to hire or arrange for such a person to be stationed in the immediate vicinity of, or posted at, a polling place without authorization from the elections official. This bill would authorize the Secretary of State or Attorney General to object to authorization provided by the appropriate elections official, in which case the person stationed or posted at the polling place, or the person who hired or arranged for such a person to be stationed or posted at the polling place, is guilty of a crime. By expanding the scope of these crimes, the bill would create a state-mandated local program. (4) Existing law authorizes the Secretary of State, Attorney General, and any local elections official in the county in which the act occurs, to bring a civil action against an individual, business, or other legal entity that commits any specified act of tampering with a voting system or voting equipment before, during, or after an election. This bill would additionally authorize the Secretary of State, Attorney General, and the appropriate local elections official to bring a civil action against a person, business, or entity that takes a package containing ballots from the custody of an elections official. (5) Existing law makes it a crime for an individual to undertake a number of enumerated actions that would result in interference with an election, including displaying a container for the purpose of collecting ballots with the intent to deceive a voter into casting a ballot in an unofficial ballot box. This bill would also make it a crime to take a package containing voted ballots out of the custody of an elections official. By expanding the scope of this crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (6) Existing law requires the elections official of any county or city using a voting system to inspect the machines or devices at least once every 2 years. This bill would prohibit an individual from permitting an agent of a law enforcement agency, as defined, to access, disrupt, modify, or take possession of certified voting technology unless authorized by a court order. To the extent this bill would establish new procedures for the conduct of elections, it would create a state-mandated local program. (7) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that with regard to certain mandates no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. With regard to any other mandates, this bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs so mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above. (8) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute. Digest Key Vote: 2/3 Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: YES Bill Text The people of the State of California do enact as follows: SECTION 1. Section 15006 is added to the Elections Code, to read: 15006. (a) (1) The Attorney General shall provide guidance and information to county elections officials regarding how elections officials, precinct boards, election workers, and election volunteers should respond to requests by an agent of a law enforcement agency to access areas where ballots are cast, handled, processed, counted, tabulated, tallied, audited, or recounted. (2) The Attorney General shall publish and provide guidance to managers of election sites regarding how to respond to requests by an agent of a law enforcement agency to access areas where ballots are cast, handled, processed, counted, tabulated, tallied, audited, or recounted. (b) The guidance and information provided pursuant to subdivision (a) shall be developed in consultation with the Secretary of State, be consistent with federal and state law, and aim to ensure that all voting locations remain safe and accessible to all voters. (c) For the purposes of this section, “law enforcement agency” means all of the following: (1) Any law enforcement agency, department, or other entity of the state or any political subdivision thereof, that employs any peace officer described in Chapter 4.5 (commencing with Section 830) of Title 3 of Part 2 of the Penal Code. (2) Any law enforcement agency of another state. (3) Any federal law enforcement agency. SEC. 2. Section 15007 is added to the Elections Code, to read: 15007. (a) A peace officer shall not interfere in any manner with the administration of any election in this state and in the discharge of duties by the Secretary of State, a county elections official, an election worker, or a volunteer performing required elections-related tasks prescribed by this code or any other provision of state law except as necessary to respond to urgent threats to public health and safety. (b) The following persons may bring a civil action to enforce the provisions of this section: (1) The Attorney General. (2) The Secretary of State. (3) A county elections official with respect to violations that occur within the elections official’s county. (c) A court shall expedite the scheduling and disposition of a civil action brought pursuant to this section if the action is filed during the period beginning thirty days before election day and ending with the completion of the canvass. (d) The provisions of this section shall not prevent a qualified elector from exercising their right to vote in an election in this state and shall not be construed to authorize an action that would be prohibited by federal law or to limit any federal authority that is validly exercised pursuant to federal law. SEC. 3. Section 15104 of the Elections Code is amended to read: 15104. (a) The processing of vote by mail ballot return envelopes, and the processing and counting of vote by mail ballots, shall be open to the public, both prior to and after the election. (b) A member of the county grand jury, and at least one member each of the Republican county central committee, the Democratic county central committee, and of any other party with a candidate on the ballot, and any other interested organization, shall be permitted to observe and challenge the manner in which the vote by mail ballots are handled, from the processing of vote by mail ballot return envelopes through the counting and disposition of the ballots. (c) The elections official shall notify vote by mail voter observers and the public at least 48 hours in advance of the dates, times, and places where vote by mail ballots will be processed and counted. (d) Notwithstanding paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) of Section 2194, vote by mail voter observers shall be allowed sufficiently close access to enable them to observe the vote by mail ballot return envelopes and the signatures thereon and challenge whether those individuals handling vote by mail ballots are following established procedures, including all of the following: (1) Verifying signatures on the vote by mail ballot return envelopes by comparing them to voter registration information. (2) Duplicating accurately damaged or defective ballots. (3) Securing vote by mail ballots to prevent tampering with them before they are counted. (4) Verifying signatures on statements completed pursuant to subdivisions (d) and (e) of Section 3019. (e) A vote by mail voter observer shall not interfere with the orderly processing of vote by mail ballot return envelopes or the processing and counting of vote by mail ballots, including the touching or handling of the ballots. (f) A vote by mail voter observer shall not be permitted to challenge a signature on a vote by mail ballot return envelope pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 3019, or on statements completed pursuant to subdivisions (d) and (e) of Section 3019, on the basis that they believe the signature does not compare with the signatures appearing in the voter’s registration record. SEC. 4. Section 15551 of the Elections Code is amended to read: 15551. (a) If a contest or any such criminal prosecution has been commenced before the date fixed for its destruction, the package containing the voted ballots shall be subject to the order of the court in which the contest or criminal prosecution is pending and shall not be destroyed until after final determination of the contest or criminal prosecution. (b) In the case of a congressional election contest, the elections official shall hold the ballots of that congressional district in custody subject to the inspection of any committee of the House of Representatives having in charge the investigation of the contest, until the final determination of the contest by the House of Representatives. (c) In the case of a contest in the State Legislature, the elections official shall hold the ballots of the Senate or Assembly district in custody subject to the inspection of any committee of the Senate or Assembly having in charge the investigation of the contest until the final determination of the contest or the final adjournment of the session of the Legislature in which the contest is filed, whichever is the later. (d) In no event shall the package or its contents be taken from the custody of the elections official. SEC. 5. Section 15553 is added to the Elections Code, to read: 15553. (a) In no event shall any individual permit an agent of a law enforcement agency to access, disrupt, modify, or take possession of rosters, combined rosters, or voter lists unless authorized by a court order or to investigate a violation of Section 18560. This subdivision shall not be construed to prohibit an individual, in accordance with a written agreement between the elections official conducting the election and a law enforcement agency pursuant to Section 18544 or Section 18545, to permit agents of that agency to provide logistical, transportation, or security support during the voting period, on election day, or during the canvass of the vote. (b) For the purposes of this section, “law enforcement agency” means all of the following: (1) Any law enforcement agency, department, or other entity of the state or any political subdivision thereof, that employs any peace officer described in Chapter 4.5 (commencing with Section 830) of Title 3 of Part 2 of the Penal Code. (2) Any law enforcement agency of another state. (3) Any federal law enforcement agency. SEC. 6. Section 18544 of the Elections Code is amended to read: 18544. (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 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 does not apply to any of the following: (1) An unarmed uniformed guard or security personnel who is at the polling place to cast their vote. (2) A peace officer who is conducting official business in the course of their public employment or who is at the polling place to cast their 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. (5) (A) A person described in subdivision (a) who is stationed in the immediate vicinity of, or posted at, a polling place with the written authorization of the appropriate city or county elections official, provided that neither the Secretary of State nor the Attorney General objected to that authorization, in writing, after it was granted. (B) A person described in subdivision (a) who is stationed or posted at a polling place with written authorization pursuant to subparagraph (A), which is subsequently objected to by the Secretary of State or Attorney General, shall not be subject to criminal penalties pursuant to this section unless the person remained stationed or posted at the polling place after gaining knowledge of the objection. SEC. 7. Section 18545 of the Elections Code is amended to read: 18545. (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 [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]