This law, known as the Uniform District Election Law, provides definitions for key terms related to district elections in California. It explains what terms like 'affected county,' 'director,' 'district,' 'agency,' 'elective office,' 'elective officer,' and 'general district election' mean. It outlines who qualifies as a 'voter,' what a 'landowner voting district' is, and describes the 'principal act' which is the law that sets up a district or agency. Additionally, it defines 'principal county,' 'resident voting district,' 'secretary,' 'supervising authority,' and other right and role designations relating to elections within district or agency governed areas.

This law is about the process for electing officials in districts. It outlines how these elections should be organized, carried out, and how the results should be handled and announced.

This law outlines who is responsible for conducting elections for districts and agencies in California. The county elections official must conduct elections for resident voting districts and may choose to do so for landowner voting districts. If a landowner voting district wants the county's help, it must request it via resolution, agree to cover costs, and provide necessary voter information. Elections could be mail-only and cannot coincide with regular elections. If districts don't provide required info on time, they must handle elections themselves.

This law applies if it conflicts with a district's founding rules and doesn't apply to the first election of district officers except for setting their terms.

This law section says that if a specific set of election rules ('the principal act') doesn't cover a situation, then California's general election laws are followed. If neither the specific rules nor any part of the principal act apply, the general election laws of California take precedence.

This law says that when a district secretary has to send a notice or information to the county elections official by a certain date, they have two options. They can either deliver it in person by that date, or they can send it through certified mail, as long as it arrives on time according to the normal mail schedule.

This law explains how long elected officers in new districts hold their positions. If a district is formed in an odd-numbered year, officers will stay in office until the first Friday in December two years later, unless the election was in November, then different rules apply. If formed in an even-numbered year, they serve until the first Friday in December of the second odd-numbered year afterwards.

The first general district election sets terms by dividing elected directors into two classes by drawing lots: one group serves four years, the other two years. Other elected officials serve four-year terms. Additionally, special districts can choose to hold elections on the same day as statewide general elections by passing a resolution.

If a district adds more divisions, the first directors' terms can't exceed four years and should stagger elections to keep them balanced in future elections. Once these initial terms end, new directors are elected for four-year terms or until their successors are ready to serve.

This law states that the main set of rules for a district will determine if the election of board members (directors) is by smaller sections within a district or by the entire district population. Additionally, the local governing group has the authority to mandate elections based on districts following another specific rule, Section 10650.

About four months before a general district election, the secretary must send a signed notice with the district seal to the county elections official. This notice should list the district offices up for election and indicate if any are for the remainder of an unexpired term. It also needs to specify who will pay for publishing a candidate's qualification statement – the district or the candidate.

If you're running for a district office, you need to get your declaration of candidacy forms from the county elections office, although the district secretary can sometimes provide them too. You can get these forms starting 113 days before the general district election, and you must submit them by 5 p.m. on the 88th day before the election either by hand or mailed ahead of time to meet the deadline. Once filed, candidates cannot withdraw after the deadline.

You are only allowed to run for one district office at a time in the same election, and the county elections official must share filed candidacy declarations with the district secretary if requested.

This law section provides a template for someone declaring their candidacy for election to a particular office. The candidate must state their intention to run, confirm they are a registered voter, and agree to accept and perform the duties of the office if elected.

The form requires the candidate's name, address, and phone number, along with an optional occupational designation that must comply with specific rules. Candidates must also declare under penalty of perjury that the information is accurate.

Filing false information can result in fines or imprisonment. The form concludes with a signature, date, and place of execution.

This law requires each candidate running for office in California to complete an oath or affirmation as stated in the California Constitution, Section 3 of Article XX. This oath must be filed with their candidacy papers. An official from the county elections office or district secretary, or someone they designate, is responsible for administering this oath. The same officials can administer the oath to the candidate once they are elected.

When someone files to run for office, the county elections official checks their declaration to ensure it meets legal requirements. The official can request information from county officers to help with this review.

This law states that the main governing law of a specific district decides what qualifications are needed for someone to run for or hold an elected position within that district.

This law outlines the procedures for appointing candidates to elective offices in general district elections when there are not enough candidates. If only one candidate files for an office, or no one does, or the number of candidates does not exceed the available positions, the election will not occur if no petition is presented by voters. Instead, the supervising authority will appoint the candidates. If no candidates are available, any qualified person may be appointed. In cases where the office involves representation of a division mainly outside the county of the supervising authority, the county's board of supervisors where the division is located will handle the appointment.

If a current officeholder in a district doesn't submit their candidacy by the deadline, or submits and withdraws by that time, others can file to run for the position until a later deadline. This law applies only if there is an incumbent, and candidates can withdraw their candidacy by the later deadline as well.

This law says that the county elections official in each involved county is responsible for running the general district election for the parts of the district within their county. If a district stretches across multiple counties, the election officials in those counties can agree to let one official handle the election for the whole district.

If there is only one district election happening in a county, the county's election official can allow the district's officer to take over some election duties usually handled by the county elections office.

This law allows a district governing body to ask the county elections official or the supervising authority to take over the responsibilities of the district secretary or the governing body itself if needed.

This law says that if there is a general district election in a county, each district involved must pay the county back for the actual costs the county spent on running that election.

The county elections official will figure out how much each district owes and send them a bill.

This law section explains that the rules about who can vote in a district, how many votes each person gets, and how to figure out those numbers rely on the main law set for that specific district.

This law requires the secretary of a voting district to provide a map and details about election divisions to the county elections official at least 125 days before the general district election. The map must show district boundaries and specify where directors or officers will be elected.

In any district where there are less than 100 registered voters, elections will be held at large, meaning all voters can vote for all positions rather than dividing the district into smaller areas.

At least 125 days before the general district election, the secretary of a landowner voting district must provide a county elections official in each relevant county with a map or description of the district or divisions where elections will occur.

This law details the process for preparing a list of eligible voters for a landowner district election, which must be done at least 35 days before the election. The district secretary creates this list of voters qualified to vote according to that district's rules and must obtain necessary information from county offices. The list includes each voter’s name, residence, voting division, and how votes are distributed. The list needs to be signed by the district secretary, sealed, and publicly posted. Alternatively, the district may delegate these duties to the county elections official through a resolution.

Thirty days before a general district election, the county elections official must prepare enough ballots for all voters in each district taking part in the election.

This law requires the county elections official to prepare enough ballots for voters in landowner voting districts at least 20 days before the next general district election.

This law explains how ballots should be designed for landowner voting districts and resident voting districts during general district elections. For landowner districts, the ballot form is decided by that district's governing rules. For resident voting districts, the county elections official decides the ballot form. If possible, the official can simplify things by combining elections into one ballot in the same area.

This law states that once a candidate's application to run for office is confirmed as valid, that candidate's name will appear on the election ballot. However, if the candidate passes away, and this is officially known at least 68 days before the election, their name will not be printed on the ballot.

This section says that vote-by-mail voting should generally follow the same rules as general elections, unless a district specifically allows voting by proxy or decides to conduct an all-mail ballot election through a resolution.

This law allows landowner district elections to use vote by mail (instead of voting by proxy) if the district's governing board adopts this option at least 110 days before the election. Any eligible voter can request a mail ballot, and the required application form must include specific information like the voter's name, address, and signature. The election official will send the ballot to the voter once the application is verified. The ballot package will include a declaration under penalty of perjury confirming the voter's eligibility to vote. This mail voting process must follow certain regulations and be consistent with landowner voting laws.

This law requires the county elections official to prepare and provide a voter list and roster for each precinct during a general district election. If different district elections are combined on one ballot, the elections official can create a single, consolidated voter list for all voters using that ballot. These lists and rosters must be given to each precinct board before the polls open.

For elections in districts where land ownership affects voting rights, the voter list must show how many votes each voter is allowed to cast.

If the county elections official doesn't appoint a voting team for a district election, or if the appointed team isn't there when voting starts, the majority of voters present can form the team themselves. They can either appoint the entire team or find replacements for any missing members.

This law states that the inspector is the leader or head of the precinct board during elections.

This law says that if a judge or an election official can't perform their duties during an election, the inspector in charge can choose someone else to fill in.

If the person in charge of overseeing an election at a polling place stops being able to do their job, the remaining members of the team can choose someone to take their place.

This law allows any member of a precinct board to give and confirm oaths that are necessary during an election.

This law states that candidates must submit statements about their qualifications to the county elections official. These statements are then included in the voters’ pamphlet, which is mailed out if required.

This law states that polling places must open at 7 a.m. and close at 8 p.m. However, if all eligible voters in a precinct have voted before 8 p.m., the precinct board can close the polls early, count the votes, and report the results as the law requires. Despite early closing, no vote counts or results can be announced before 8 p.m.

This law section explains that for each landowner voting district involved in a general district election, the district's main set of rules will determine how voting is done. This includes how ballots are given to voters, how votes are cast, and how ballots are returned and put in the ballot box.

This law section specifies that voting, counting votes at polling places, and delivering election results to the county elections officials should generally follow the same rules used for general elections, unless there are specific exceptions in this part of the code.

The law allows the decision-making group of a district to set rules on how much money can be donated to political campaigns in elections for district positions.

This law section outlines the procedure for handling election materials, like envelopes and voter lists, after an election. The inspector must seal these materials in an envelope while a judge and clerk are present. This envelope is then labeled with the precinct's name and marked as election returns.

After that, the envelope must be directed to the county elections official. Finally, the inspector or a designated responsible person must deliver it immediately to the county elections official.

This law states that if there is a need to recount votes in a general district election, the process will follow the rules outlined in another part of the law, specifically starting with Section 15600 in Chapter 12 of Division 15.

The county elections official is required to start reviewing and tallying the election results no later than the first Thursday following any general district election.

This law requires that the vote-counting process be done openly, where the votes for each candidate are publicly opened, counted, and the results announced.

This law states that as long as the records from a general district election, like rosters or tally lists, can be clearly understood, they can't be disregarded simply because they don't follow a specific format.

Once the county elections official announces the results of an election, they must send a detailed statement of the results to each participating district's secretary. This statement includes the total ballots cast for each office, the name of each candidate, and the number of votes received in each precinct and division (if applicable), all duly signed and authenticated with the county seal.

Before the first Friday in December, the county elections official must declare the winning candidate(s) for any elective office based on who received the most votes. If only one person is to be elected, the candidate with the highest votes wins. If multiple people are to be elected, the number of candidates with the highest votes matching the number of available positions will be declared elected.

If there's a tie that prevents determining a winner, the county elections official will inform the district's governing body. The tie will be resolved by a random draw, or 'lot,' conducted by the governing body. The candidate chosen through this process will take office as if elected in the general district election.

As soon as someone is elected, the county elections official must quickly provide them with an official certificate of election, which is signed by the elections official.

This law states that elected officials, or those appointed, assume their roles at noon on the first Friday in December after the general district election. Before they start, they must take an official oath and complete any necessary bonding as required by the governing act.

This section of the law states that elections where only landowners can vote cannot be combined with elections where all residents can vote. However, other types of elections conducted by a district may be combined with different elections if they follow specific rules starting with Section 10400.

This law says that small mistakes or informalities in how a general district election is conducted will not make the election invalid, as long as the overall process was fair.