This section states that all political power comes from the people. The government exists to protect, secure, and benefit them. If necessary for the public good, people have the right to change or improve the government.

This law states that any U.S. citizen who is 18 or older and lives in California is allowed to vote. However, if a person is serving time in state or federal prison, they cannot vote during their sentence. Once they have finished their prison term, their voting rights will be restored.

The state legislature is responsible for defining what it means to be a resident, setting up a system for voter registration, and ensuring that elections are conducted fairly and without charge.

This law section requires the California Legislature to stop unethical practices that might interfere with fair elections. It also states that people can't vote if they are mentally incompetent or currently in prison for a felony conviction.

This section explains how primary elections work for congressional and state offices in California. Anyone who can vote in these elections can choose any candidate, no matter their political party. The top two candidates with the most votes, regardless of party, move on to the general election. Candidates can show their party preference on the ballot if they want, but political parties can't officially nominate candidates for these primaries.

The rules for presidential primaries are different. The state arranges these as partisan elections, allowing recognized candidates and those who petition to be on the ballot. Political parties in these elections can participate in the general election and place their top-voted candidate from the primary on the general election ballot.

This section mandates that certain public offices in California, like judicial, school, county, and city offices, as well as the Superintendent of Public Instruction, must remain nonpartisan. This means candidates for these offices can't be officially nominated by a political party, and their political party preference will not appear on the election ballot.

This law states that votes must be cast in a way that keeps how a person voted private and confidential.

This law section describes the process and rules for creating and voting on initiative measures in California. It allows citizens to propose new laws or constitutional amendments by gathering signatures from voters amounting to 5% for laws and 8% for constitutional amendments, based on the last governor's election turnout. Once the initiative has enough signatures, it's placed on the ballot for a public vote at the next election. However, initiatives must focus on a single subject, apply uniformly across the state, and cannot have conditional outcomes based on voting results.

This section explains how California voters can use a referendum to approve or reject certain state laws, except for urgent ones or those related to elections, taxes, and typical state expenses. To propose a referendum, a petition must be signed by at least 5 percent of voters from the last governor's election, and submitted to the Secretary of State within 90 days of the law's enactment.

There's a special rule for laws enacted near a legislative session's recess: these petitions must reach the Attorney General before January 1 following the law's passage. Once qualified, the referendum is placed on the ballot at the next general or special statewide election.

This section explains how initiative statutes and referendums work in California. An initiative or referendum that's approved by voter majority becomes effective five days after the Secretary of State finalizes the vote count, although it may become operative later if specified. If two measures conflict, the one with more votes prevails. The Legislature can change or repeal referendums, and can do the same with initiatives, but only with voter approval unless stated otherwise. Before signatures can be collected for such petitions, they must be submitted to the Attorney General for a title and summary. Additionally, the Legislature is responsible for outlining the petition process and how measures are voted on.

This section of the California Constitution outlines the rules for initiative and referendum powers used by city or county voters. It establishes that these powers must follow procedures set up by the state legislature. However, for cities that have their own charters, other provisions may apply.

The law restricts initiatives in two key ways. First, it ensures that no part of a city or county can be selectively included or excluded from an initiative based on how votes are cast or the percentage of approval in that area. Second, it prohibits initiatives from having alternative rules that kick in depending on how many votes they receive, preventing provisions from becoming law based on vote percentages.

This law says that any changes to the Constitution or new laws that the government wants voters to approve cannot name a specific person for a job or a private company to do a task or have a special role. This is to ensure fairness and prevent favoritism in legal and constitutional amendments.

This law section explains that voters have the power to remove someone from an elected position through a process called recall.

This section explains how to initiate the recall of a state officer in California. To start, you need to hand a petition to the Secretary of State that says why the recall is sought, though the reason itself doesn't get evaluated. You have 160 days to gather and file the required signatures. For statewide officers, the petition needs signatures from 12% of voters who last voted for that office, including signatures from at least 5 counties at 1% each. For lower offices like Senators or judges, you need signatures from 20% of voters from the last election. The Secretary of State keeps an ongoing tally of certified signatures.

This section talks about the process for recalling an elected official in California. Once enough signatures are collected, an election is set by the Governor to decide if the official should be removed and a new one elected. This election must happen between 60 to 80 days after the signatures are certified. However, it can be extended up to 180 days to align with another scheduled election, as long as enough voters are eligible. If most people vote for the recall, the official loses their position, and the candidate with the most votes becomes the new official. The recalled official can't run to get their position back.

This section mandates that the California Legislature is responsible for setting up the processes for handling petitions, nominating candidates, and conducting recall elections.

If there's a recall for the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor takes over the recall responsibilities. If it's the Secretary of State being recalled, the Controller steps in for those duties.

If a state officer is not removed from their position after a recall election, the state will cover the costs that the officer personally and legally incurred during the recall election. Additionally, no new recall attempt can be made against this officer for six months following the election.

This section requires the state legislature to create a way for local officials to be removed from office through a recall process. However, this doesn't apply to counties and cities that already have their own rules for recalling officials in their charters.

This section explains when elected officials, aside from Members of the Legislature, begin their terms. These terms start on the Monday after January 1, following their election, which occurs in the last even-numbered year before the term ends.