This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the California Voter Participation Rights Act.
Chapter 1.7Voter Participation
Section § 14050
This part of the law is named the California Voter Participation Rights Act. It sets the foundation for rules related to voter participation.
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Section § 14051
This law defines certain terms used in its chapter. A "political subdivision" is an area set up for providing government services and can include cities, school districts, and other types of districts. A "significant decrease in voter turnout" happens when voter participation in a regular election is at least 25% lower than the average turnout over the last four statewide general elections in that area. "Voter turnout" refers to the percentage of eligible voters who actually cast their ballots in an election.
As used in this chapter:
(a)CA Elections Code § 14051(a) “Political subdivision” means a geographic area of representation created for the provision of government services, including, but not limited to, a city, a school district, a community college district, or other district organized pursuant to state law.
(b)CA Elections Code § 14051(b) “Significant decrease in voter turnout” means the voter turnout for a regularly scheduled election in a political subdivision is at least 25 percent less than the average voter turnout within that political subdivision for the previous four statewide general elections.
(c)CA Elections Code § 14051(c) “Voter turnout” means the percentage of
voters who are eligible to cast ballots within a given political subdivision who voted.
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Section § 14052
This law says that if a local area has noticed that voter turnout significantly drops when elections are held on days that don't match statewide election dates, they shouldn't hold elections on such nonconcurrent days. However, if by January 1, 2018, the area made a plan to link its elections to a statewide election by November 8, 2022, it can still hold elections on different days until then.
(a)CA Elections Code § 14052(a) Except as provided in subdivision (b), a political subdivision shall not hold an election other than on a statewide election date if holding an election on a nonconcurrent date has previously resulted in a significant decrease in voter turnout.
(b)CA Elections Code § 14052(b) A political subdivision may hold an election other than on a statewide election date if, by January 1, 2018, the political subdivision has adopted a plan to consolidate a future election with a statewide election not later than the November 8, 2022, statewide general election.
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Section § 14053
If a court finds that a certain election law was violated, it can set new remedies to fix the problem. This might include scheduling future elections to happen at the same time and upgrading voting equipment to support this. The court can also demand that the county board of supervisors agrees to merge elections as per another law.
Upon a finding of a violation of subdivision (a) of Section 14052, the court shall implement appropriate remedies, including the imposition of concurrent election dates for future elections and the upgrade of voting equipment or systems to do so. In imposing remedies pursuant to this section, a court may also require a county board of supervisors to approve consolidation pursuant to Section 10402.5.
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Section § 14054
If you win a court case related to this specific law and you're not the state or a part of it, the court must award you reasonable attorney's fees and other litigation costs, like expert witness fees. However, if the defendant wins, they can't get any costs back unless the court decides the lawsuit was a waste of time or unfounded.
In an action to enforce subdivision (a) of Section 14052, the court shall allow the prevailing plaintiff other than the state or political subdivision of the state, a reasonable attorney’s fee consistent with the standards established in Serrano v. Priest (1977) 20 Cal.3d 25, 48-49, and litigation expenses including, but not limited to, expert witness fees and expenses as part of the costs. A prevailing defendant shall not recover any costs, unless the court finds the action to be frivolous, unreasonable, or without foundation.
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Section § 14055
If you're a voter living in an area where people believe there has been a specific legal violation related to voting (as described in another law), you can take legal action by filing a case in the superior court of your county.
A voter who resides in a political subdivision where a violation of subdivision (a) of Section 14052 is alleged may file an action pursuant to that section in the superior court of the county in which the political subdivision is located.
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Section § 14056
This law states that the rules or provisions described in this chapter do not apply to special elections.
This chapter does not apply to special elections.
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Section § 14057
This section states that the rules outlined in this chapter started to be in effect from January 1, 2018.
This chapter shall become operative on January 1, 2018.
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