Chapter 2Grounds for Contest

Section § 16100

Explanation

If you are a voter in a county, city, or smaller political area in California, you can challenge an election there if certain issues occurred. These issues include election board misconduct, an ineligible person being elected, bribery or illegal offers related to the election, illegal votes being counted, eligible voters being stopped from voting, errors by the election board that affect the outcome, or mistakes in vote counting.

Any elector of a county, city, or of any political subdivision of either may contest any election held therein, for any of the following causes:
(a)CA Elections Code § 16100(a) That the precinct board or any member thereof was guilty of malconduct.
(b)CA Elections Code § 16100(b) That the person who has been declared elected to an office was not, at the time of the election, eligible to that office.
(c)CA Elections Code § 16100(c) That the defendant has given to any elector or member of a precinct board any bribe or reward, or has offered any bribe or reward for the purpose of procuring his election, or has committed any other offense against the elective franchise defined in Division 18 (commencing with Section 18000).
(d)CA Elections Code § 16100(d) That illegal votes were cast.
(e)CA Elections Code § 16100(e) That eligible voters who attempted to vote in accordance with the laws of the state were denied their right to vote.
(f)CA Elections Code § 16100(f) That the precinct board in conducting the election or in canvassing the returns, made errors sufficient to change the result of the election as to any person who has been declared elected.
(g)CA Elections Code § 16100(g) That there was an error in the vote-counting programs or summation of ballot counts.
election contest voter misconduct candidate eligibility bribery in elections illegal voting voter suppression election board errors vote counting mistakes electoral fraud precinct board issues ballot count errors ineligible elected official denial of voting rights election result challenge electoral malconduct
(Amended by Stats. 2003, Ch. 173, Sec. 1. Effective January 1, 2004.)

Section § 16101

Explanation

If you're a candidate in a primary election and want to challenge another candidate's nomination, you can file an affidavit. The grounds for this challenge include the other candidate not being eligible, committing an election-related offense, or issues with the vote count. Problems like illegal or improper votes, eligible voters being denied the chance to vote, or major errors in counting votes that could change the election outcome are all valid reasons for contesting.

Any candidate at a primary election may contest the right of another candidate to nomination to the same office by filing an affidavit alleging any of the following grounds, that:
(a)CA Elections Code § 16101(a) The defendant is not eligible to the office in dispute.
(b)CA Elections Code § 16101(b) The defendant has committed any offense against the elective franchise defined in Division 18 (commencing with Section 18000).
(c)CA Elections Code § 16101(c) A sufficient number of votes were illegal, fraudulent, forged, or otherwise improper, and that had those votes not been counted, the defendant would not have received as many votes as the contestant.
(d)CA Elections Code § 16101(d) A sufficient number of eligible voters who attempted to vote in accordance with the laws of the state were denied their right to vote, and that had those voters been permitted to vote, the defendant would not have received as many votes as the contestant.
(e)CA Elections Code § 16101(e) Due to mistake, error, or misconduct the votes in any precinct were so incorrectly counted as to change the result.
primary election candidate contest nomination challenge candidate eligibility election offense illegal votes fraudulent votes improper vote count voter denial vote counting error election results affidavit contesting election elective franchise ground for challenge
(Amended by Stats. 2003, Ch. 173, Sec. 2. Effective January 1, 2004.)