This division shall be liberally construed so that the real will of the electors will not be defeated by any informality or failure to comply with all of the provisions of the law.
Chapter 1General Provisions
Section § 19001
This law section emphasizes that when interpreting this division, the focus should be on ensuring that the true intent of the voters is not hindered by minor mistakes or non-compliance with all legal rules.
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Section § 19002
This law states that if there is a conflict between the rules in this specific division and other parts of the same code about the same election-related topic, the rules in this division will take precedence for the election or area they cover.
Any provision of this division, insofar as it is inconsistent with any other provision of this code relating to the same subject matter, shall be controlling as to any election or precinct for which the provisions of this division are adopted.
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Section § 19003
This law specifies that the rules in this division take precedence over any conflicting laws, including city or county ordinances, when it comes to governing voting systems, unless those other laws are consistent with this division.
Notwithstanding any other provision of the law to the contrary, including any city or county ordinance, unless that other provision of the law is deemed consistent with this division, this division shall govern voting systems.
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Section § 19004
If you want to borrow or rent voting equipment, you need approval from the board of supervisors and must cover any costs related to using the equipment.
Voting equipment may be loaned or rented for any purposes with the consent of the board of supervisors, if payment for the expenses incident to the use of the machine is made.
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Section § 19005
If there's an electrical failure or emergency during an election, the person in charge can allow voters to mark their ballots using pencil or ink. After that, the election official can either copy these ballots for machine counting or count them manually according to specific procedures.
In the case of electrical failure or other emergency, the official conducting the election may direct that ballots may be marked by pencil or ink. In that event, the elections official may duplicate the voted ballot cards as provided in Section 15210 and count the duplicate ballots by automatic tabulating device, or may count the voted ballots pursuant to Article 5 (commencing with Section 15270) of Chapter 3 of Division 15.
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Section § 19006
This law highlights the intent for voting systems in California to be certified or conditionally approved by the Secretary of State, ensuring they meet standards for accuracy, accessibility, and security, irrespective of federal certification.
The Secretary of State must establish and publish testing standards in line with the Help America Vote Act and incorporate best practices.
There is encouragement for developing voting systems with open-source code that are easy to audit.
Local jurisdictions can use public funds to buy, maintain, or develop such voting systems, including creating pilot programs or presenting them for state certification.
The law also envisions the benefits of developing a publicly funded nonproprietary voting system for the state.
It is the intent of the Legislature that:
(a)CA Elections Code § 19006(a) All voting systems be certified or conditionally approved by the Secretary of State, independent of voluntary federal qualification or certification, before they are used in future elections to ensure that the voting systems have the ability to meet accuracy, accessibility, and security standards.
(b)CA Elections Code § 19006(b) The Secretary of State adopt and publish testing standards that meet the minimum requirements of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. Sec. 21081 et seq.) and that incorporate best practices in election technology.
(c)CA Elections Code § 19006(c) The Secretary of State study and encourage the development of voting systems that use
nonproprietary source code and that are easy to audit.
(d)CA Elections Code § 19006(d) A local jurisdiction may use available public funds to purchase and maintain any certified or conditionally approved voting system or part of a voting system.
(e)CA Elections Code § 19006(e) California receive the benefits of the publicly funded development of a nonproprietary voting system in the state.
(f)CA Elections Code § 19006(f) A local jurisdiction may use available public funds to research and develop a nonproprietary voting system that uses disclosed source codes, including the manufacture of a limited number of voting system units, for use in a pilot program or for submission to the Secretary of State for certification.
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