Provisional Voting - Procedures At Polls - Elections - CA

Section § 14310

This section explains what happens when a voter believes they are registered but their eligibility can't be immediately confirmed. The voter can cast a provisional ballot, with guidance provided by election officials. They must affirm their eligibility and registration in the county, and the ballot is then sealed and kept securely until reviewed.

During the official counting, the election officials will check signatures to validate the provisional ballots. Ballots will be rejected if the signature doesn't match or is missing, but minor signature variations won't disqualify a ballot. Provisional ballots are generally not counted unless the voter's right to vote is verified, the ballot follows certain rules, or a court orders their inclusion.

If voters cast ballots in the wrong precinct, only the votes they're eligible to make will be counted. Voters can track whether their provisional ballots were counted through a system set up by the Secretary of State, who can also make regulations for consistency in this process. This applies to any mail voter unable to return their original ballot, and existing supplies labeled "special challenged ballot" can still be used until depleted.

(a) At all elections, a voter claiming to be properly registered, but whose qualification or entitlement to vote cannot be immediately established upon examination of the roster for the precinct or upon examination of the records on file with the county elections official, shall be entitled to vote a provisional ballot as follows:

(1) An elections official shall advise the voter of the voter’s right to cast a provisional ballot.

(2) The voter shall be provided a provisional ballot, written instructions regarding the process and procedures for casting the ballot, and a written affirmation regarding the voter’s registration and eligibility to vote. The written instructions shall include the information set forth in subdivisions (c) and (d).

(3) The voter shall be required to execute, in the presence of an elections official, the written affirmation stating that the voter is eligible to vote and registered in the county where the voter desires to vote.

(b) Once voted, the voter’s ballot shall be sealed in a provisional ballot envelope, and the ballot in its envelope shall be deposited in the ballot box. All provisional ballots voted shall remain sealed in their envelopes for return to the elections official in accordance with the elections official’s instructions. The provisional ballot envelopes specified in this subdivision shall be of a color different than the color of, but printed substantially similar to, the envelopes used for vote by mail ballots, and shall be completed in the same manner as vote by mail envelopes.

(c)

(1) During the official canvass, the elections official shall examine the records with respect to all provisional ballots cast. Using the procedures that apply to the comparison of signatures on vote by mail ballots pursuant to Section 3019, the elections official shall compare the signature on each provisional ballot envelope with the signature on the voter’s affidavit of registration or other signature in the voter’s registration record. If the signatures do not compare or the provisional ballot envelope is not signed, the ballot shall be rejected. A variation of the signature caused by the substitution of initials for the first or middle name, or both, shall not invalidate the ballot.

(2)

(A) Provisional ballots shall not be included in any semiofficial or official canvass, except under one or more of the following conditions:

(i) The elections official establishes prior to the completion of the official canvass, from the records in his or her office, the claimant’s right to vote.

(ii) The provisional ballot has been cast and included in the canvass pursuant to Article 4.5 (commencing with Section 2170) of Chapter 2 of Division 2.

(iii) Upon the order of a superior court in the county of the voter’s residence.

(B) A voter may seek the court order specified in this paragraph regarding his or her own ballot at any time prior to completion of the official canvass. Any judicial action or appeal shall have priority over all other civil matters. A fee shall not be charged to the claimant by the clerk of the court for services rendered in an action under this section.

(3) The provisional ballot of a voter who is otherwise entitled to vote shall not be rejected because the voter did not cast his or her ballot in the precinct to which he or she was assigned by the elections official.

(A) If the ballot cast by the voter contains the same candidates and measures on which the voter would have been entitled to vote in his or her assigned precinct, the elections official shall count the votes for the entire ballot.

(B) If the ballot cast by the voter contains candidates or measures on which the voter would not have been entitled to vote in his or her assigned precinct, the elections official shall count only the votes for the candidates and measures on which the voter was entitled to vote in his or her assigned precinct.

(d) The Secretary of State shall establish a free access system that any voter who casts a provisional ballot may access to discover whether the voter’s provisional ballot was counted and, if not, the reason why it was not counted.

(e) The Secretary of State may adopt appropriate regulations for the purpose of ensuring the uniform application of this section.

(f) This section shall apply to any vote by mail voter described by Section 3015 who is unable to surrender his or her unvoted vote by mail voter’s ballot.

(g) Any existing supply of envelopes marked “special challenged ballot” may be used until the supply is exhausted.

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Section § 14311

If you've moved to a new address within the same county in California and haven't updated your voter registration, you can still vote on election day. You have the choice to vote at your assigned polling place based on your new address or at the county elections office. Your registration will be updated at the time of voting for future elections.

However, you must vote using a provisional ballot, which is a special ballot that is used when there are questions about a voter's eligibility.

(a) A voter who has moved from one address to another within the same county and who has not reregistered to vote at that new address may, at his or her option, vote on the day of the election at the polling place at which he or she is entitled to vote based on his or her current residence address, or at the office of the county elections official or other central location designated by that elections official. The voter shall be reregistered at the place of voting for future elections.

(b) Voters casting ballots under this section shall be required to vote by provisional ballot, as provided in Section 14310.

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Section § 14312

This law ensures that any doubt or complexity in its interpretation should be resolved in a way that benefits the provisional voter.

This article shall be liberally construed in favor of the provisional voter.

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Section § 14313

This law allows emergency workers to vote outside their home precinct during a state of emergency, as declared by the Governor. Elections officials must provide these workers with a provisional ballot, which is similar to what other voters receive. The ballot must be cast by the end of election day and received by the voter’s home county within ten days after the election to be counted.

Once received, the ballot will be processed according to specific election procedures, and if all requirements are met, it will be duplicated and stored properly. An emergency worker is defined as someone actively responding to the emergency as identified in a related executive order.

(a) Upon the declaration of a state of emergency by the Governor and the issuance of an executive order authorizing an emergency worker to cast a ballot outside of his or her home precinct, elections officials in the counties included in the executive order shall, upon demand, issue to an emergency worker a provisional ballot that may be identical to the provisional ballot offered to other voters in the county, using a process to be determined by the elections official. The elections official shall transmit for processing any ballot cast, including any materials necessary to process the ballot, pursuant to this section to the elections official in the county where the voter is registered to vote.

(b) To be counted, a ballot cast pursuant to this section shall satisfy both of the following requirements:

(1) Be cast by the voter no later than the close of the polls on election day.

(2) Be received by the county elections official where the voter is registered on or before the 10th day following the date of the election.

(c) Upon receipt of the returned ballot, the elections official shall process the ballot pursuant to the procedures in subdivision (c) of Section 14310.

(d) If the requirements in subdivisions (b) and (c) are met and the ballot is eligible to be counted, the ballot shall be duplicated and all other materials preserved according to the procedures set forth in this code.

(e) “Emergency worker” for the purposes of this section means a person who is officially engaged in responding to the proclaimed state of emergency and whose vocation has been identified in an executive order relating to the state of emergency.

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Section § 14314

The rule directs the Secretary of State to create regulations that guide county election officials on how to handle provisional ballots.

The Secretary of State shall promulgate regulations establishing guidelines for county elections officials relating to the processing of provisional ballots.

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