2100-2124
ELECTIONS CODE
SECTION 2100-2124
2100. No person shall be registered except as provided in this chapter except upon the production and filing of a certified copy of a judgment of the superior court directing registration to be made. 2101. A person entitled to register to vote shall be a United States citizen, a resident of California, not in prison or on parole for the conviction of a felony, and at least 18 years of age at the time of the next election. 2102. (a) A person may not be registered as a voter except by affidavit of registration. The affidavit shall be mailed or delivered to the county elections official and shall set forth all of the facts required to be shown by this chapter. A properly executed registration shall be deemed effective upon receipt of the affidavit by the county elections official if received on or before the 15th day prior to an election to be held in the registrant's precinct. A properly executed registration shall also be deemed effective upon receipt of the affidavit by the county elections official if any of the following apply: (1) The affidavit is postmarked on or before the 15th day prior to the election and received by mail by the county elections official. (2) The affidavit is submitted to the Department of Motor Vehicles or accepted by any other public agency designated as a voter registration agency pursuant to the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (42 U.S.C. Sec. 1973gg) on or before the 15th day prior to the election. (3) The affidavit is delivered to the county elections official by means other than those described in paragraphs (1) or (2) on or before the 15th day prior to the election. (b) For purposes of verifying signatures on a recall, initiative, or referendum petition or signatures on a nomination paper or any other election petition or election paper, a properly executed affidavit of registration shall be deemed effective for verification purposes if both (a) the affidavit is signed on the same date or a date prior to the signing of the petition or paper, and (b) the affidavit is received by the county elections official on or before the date on which the petition or paper is filed. (c) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, the affidavit of registration required under this chapter may not be taken under sworn oath, but the content of the affidavit shall be certified as to its truthfulness and correctness, under penalty of perjury, by the signature of the affiant. 2102. (a) A person may not be registered as a voter except by affidavit of registration. The affidavit shall be mailed or delivered to the county elections official and shall set forth all of the facts required to be shown by this chapter. A properly executed registration shall be deemed effective upon receipt of the affidavit by the county elections official if received on or before the 15th day prior to an election to be held in the registrant's precinct. A properly executed registration shall also be deemed effective upon receipt of the affidavit by the county elections official if any of the following apply: (1) The affidavit is postmarked on or before the 15th day prior to the election and received by mail by the county elections official. (2) The affidavit is submitted to the Department of Motor Vehicles or accepted by any other public agency designated as a voter registration agency pursuant to the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (42 U.S.C. Sec. 1973gg) on or before the 15th day prior to the election. (3) The affidavit is delivered to the county elections official by means other than those described in paragraphs (1) or (2) on or before the 15th day prior to the election. (b) For purposes of verifying signatures on a recall, initiative, or referendum petition or signatures on a nomination paper or any other election petition or election paper, a properly executed affidavit of registration shall be deemed effective for verification purposes if both of the following conditions are satisfied: (1) The affidavit is signed on the same date or a date prior to the signing of the petition or paper. (2) The affidavit is received by the county elections official on or before the date on which the petition or paper is filed. (c) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, the affidavit of registration required under this chapter may not be taken under sworn oath, but the content of the affidavit shall be certified as to its truthfulness and correctness, under penalty of perjury, by the signature of the affiant. (d) A person who is at least 17 years of age and otherwise meets all eligibility requirements to vote may submit his or her affidavit of registration as prescribed by this section. A properly executed registration made pursuant to this subdivision shall be deemed effective as of the date the affiant will be 18 years of age, if the information in the affidavit of registration is still current at that time. If the information provided by the affiant in the affidavit of registration is not current at the time that the registration would otherwise become effective, for his or her registration to become effective, the affiant shall provide the current information to the proper county elections official as prescribed by this chapter. 2103. (a) It is the intent of the Legislature that the election board of each county, in order to promote and encourage voter registrations, shall establish a sufficient number of registration places throughout the county, and outside the county courthouse, for the convenience of persons desiring to register, to the end that registration may be maintained at a high level. (b) It is also the intent of the Legislature that county elections officials, in order to promote and encourage voter registrations, shall enlist the support and cooperation of interested citizens and organizations, and shall deputize as registrars qualified citizens in such a way as to reach most effectively every resident of the county. The persons so deputized shall be permitted to register voters anywhere within the county, including at the places of residence of the persons to be registered, and the county elections official shall not deny deputy registrars the right to register voters anywhere in the county. (c) It is also the intent of the Legislature that non-English-speaking citizens, like all other citizens, should be encouraged to vote. Therefore, appropriate efforts should be made to minimize obstacles to registration by citizens who lack sufficient skill in English to register without assistance. (d) Where the county elections official finds that citizens described in subdivision (c) approximate 3 percent or more of the voting age residents of a precinct, or in the event that interested citizens or organizations provide information which the county elections official believes indicates a need for registration assistance for qualified citizens described in subdivision (c), the county elections official shall make reasonable efforts to recruit deputy registrars who are fluent in a language used by citizens described in subdivision (c) and in English. That recruitment shall be conducted through the cooperation of interested citizens and organizations and through voluntarily donated public service notices in the media, including newspapers, radio, and television, particularly those media that serve the non-English-speaking citizens described in subdivision (c). Deputy registrars so appointed shall facilitate registration in the particular precincts concerned and shall have the right to register voters anywhere in the county. (e) In furtherance of the purposes of this section, the governing board of any county, city, city and county, district, or other public agency, may authorize and assign any of its officers or employees to become deputy registrars of voters and to register qualified citizens on any premises and facilities owned or controlled by those public agencies during the regular working hours of the officers or employees. With the exception of firemen, any compensation to which the officer or employee may be entitled in payment for the services of the officer or employee as a deputy registrar may be paid by the authority that appointed the officer or employee as a deputy registrar to the public agency that regularly employs the officer or employee. (f) It is the intent of the Legislature that no limitation be imposed on the number of persons appointed to act as deputy registrars of voters. 2104. It is the intent of the Legislature that the introduction of registration by mail shall not in any way lead to administrative limitations on the use of deputy registrars of voters for the purpose of assisting in the registration of persons who may continue to require such assistance. It is the intent of the Legislature that registrars continue to be deputized by the county elections official pursuant to Section 2103, but that as the electorate becomes more conversant with mail registration procedures, the number of deputy registrars will naturally diminish due to a decrease in the demand for the services of the deputy registrars of voters. 2105. It is the intent of the Legislature that voter registration be maintained at the highest possible level. The Secretary of State shall adopt regulations requiring each county to design and implement programs intended to identify qualified electors who are not registered voters, and to register those persons to vote. The Secretary of State shall adopt regulations prescribing minimum requirements for those programs. If the Secretary of State finds that a county has not designed and implemented a program meeting the prescribed minimum requirements, the Secretary of State shall design a program for the county and report the violation to the Attorney General. 2106. Any program adopted by a county pursuant to Section 2103 or 2105, that is designed to encourage the registration of electors, shall, with respect to any printed literature or media announcements made in connection with these programs, contain this statement: "A person entitled to register to vote must be a United States citizen, a resident of California, not in prison or on parole for the conviction of a felony, and at least 18 years of age at the time of the election." 2106. A program adopted by a county pursuant to Section 2103 or 2105, that is designed to encourage the registration of electors, shall, with respect to a printed literature or media announcement made in connection with these programs, contain this statement: "A person entitled to register to vote must be a United States citizen, a resident of California, not in prison or on parole for the conviction of a felony, and at least 18 years of age at the time of the election. A person may preregister to vote if he or she is a United States citizen, a resident of California, not in prison or on parole for the conviction of a felony, and at least 17 years of age." A county elections official may continue to use existing materials prior to printing new or revised materials required by any changes to this section. 2107. (a) Except as provided in subdivision (b), the county elections official shall accept affidavits of registration at all times except during the 14 days immediately preceding any election, when registration shall cease for that election as to electors residing in the territory within which the election is to be held. Transfers of registration for an election may be made from one precinct to another precinct in the same county at any time when registration is in progress in the precinct to which the elector seeks to transfer. (b) The county elections official shall accept an affidavit of registration executed as part of a voter registration card in the forthcoming election if the affidavit is executed on or before the 15th day prior to the election, and if any of the following apply: (1) The affidavit is postmarked on or before the 15th day prior to the election and received by mail by the county elections official. (2) The affidavit is submitted to the Department of Motor Vehicles or accepted by any other public agency designated as a voter registration agency pursuant to the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (42 U.S.C. Sec. 1973gg) prior to the election. (3) The affidavit is delivered to the county elections official by means other than those described in paragraphs (2) and (3) on or before the 15th day prior to the election. 2108. The county elections official shall keep and maintain a current file listing all persons appointed or deputized by the county elections official to register voters, which file shall be open to public inspection. The file shall include the party affiliation, if any, of each person listed. 2109. Any person who is a registered voter qualifies for appointment as a deputy registrar of voters. 2110. No county elections official may refuse to deputize any person to register voters because of ancestry, marital status, political affiliation, or any characteristic listed or defined in Section 11135 of the Government Code. 2111. A person may prove he or she is a citizen by his or her certification under penalty of perjury on the affidavit of registration. 2112. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, the fact that a person certifies to his or her United States citizenship by signing his or her affidavit of registration shall be deemed evidence of citizenship for voting purposes only. 2113. Any elector absent from the county in which he or she claims residence may request a voter registration card from the county elections official of the county of residence. The county elections official shall furnish a voter registration card, to each elector requesting a card and showing that he or she will be temporarily absent from his or her home county. Upon receipt by the county elections official, the affidavit of registration shall be processed as required by this chapter. 2114. The county elections official of any county in this state may receive the affidavit of registration of any elector who resides or claims residence in another county in this state. The affidavit shall be forwarded to the county elections official of the county in which the elector resides. The county elections official of the county in which the elector resides shall use the affidavit of registration from the other county as his or her permanent record. Registration by this method shall be effective for all elections occurring 29 or more days after receipt of the affidavit of registration by the county elections official or his or her deputy to which the affidavit is mailed or delivered by the elector. 2115. Whenever a voter, between the time of that person's last registration and the time for the closing of registration for any given election in the same county, has lawfully changed his or her surname, the voter may reregister under the new or changed name. The voter shall make an additional statement at the time of reregistration, giving the name under which he or she was last registered in that county. This additional statement shall be given in the prior registration portion of the affidavit of registration before the affidavit is signed, and shall be deemed a part of the affidavit. Upon reregistration, the last previous registration of the voter shall be canceled. 2116. (a) Whenever a voter, between the time of that person's last voter registration and the time for the closing of registration for any given election, has changed his or her residence address by moving, the voter shall execute a new affidavit of registration or a notice or a letter of the change of address as permitted in Section 2119, in order to be eligible to vote at the next election. (b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), a voter who has changed his or her residence address by moving may vote at the election immediately following the change of residence if he or she is entitled to vote under Section 2035 or 14311. 2117. Except as provided in Section 2119, if a voter reregisters or transfers his or her registration from one precinct to another, the former address shall be entered in the prior registration portion of the affidavit, and the former registration shall thereupon be canceled. 2118. No person shall register in one county when his or her registration in another remains uncanceled unless he or she complies with this section. Any person who is registered in one county may, if otherwise legally qualified, register in another county in which he or she then resides, at any time before the closing of registration for any election, if in the prior registration portion of the affidavit of registration he or she enters his or her former address. The county elections official shall at once notify the county elections official of the county in which the old registration is still uncanceled that the voter has reregistered. Upon receipt of the notice of reregistration, the former registration shall be canceled immediately. 2118.5. (a) If a voter is erroneously assigned to a precinct, the voter may apply to the elections official for a certificate showing the record of registration. The elections official shall give the voter the certificate on or before election day. Upon presentation of this certificate to the precinct board of the proper precinct, the board shall permit the voter to vote. If the voter does not obtain the certificate provided for in this section, and votes in the precinct into which the voter has been erroneously assigned by the elections official, and the election is contested, the voter's vote shall not be rejected for those candidates and on those measures with respect to which the voter would have been entitled to vote had the voter voted in the proper precinct, and no inquiry shall be made as to how the voter voted for those candidates or on those measures. (b) No voter who receives a certificate of registration under this section shall be charged a fee by the elections official. 2119. (a) In lieu of executing a new affidavit of registration for a change of address within the county the county elections official shall accept a notice or letter of the change of address signed by a voter as he or she is registered. (b) The county elections official shall accept a notification for the forthcoming election and shall change the address on the voter's affidavit of registration accordingly if the notification is executed on or before the 15th day prior to the election and if any of the following apply: (1) The notification is postmarked on or before the 15th day prior to the election and received by mail by the county elections official. (2) The notification is submitted to the Department of Motor Vehicles or accepted by any other public agency designated as a voter registration agency pursuant to the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (42 U.S.C. Sec. 1973gg) prior to the election. (3) The notification is delivered to the county elections official by means other than those described in paragraphs (2) and (3) on or before the 14th day prior to the election. 2120. If the county elections official receives a letter from a voter stating that the voter has moved to a new address in another county in the state, the elections official shall immediately notify the elections official of the county to which the voter has moved. Upon receipt of the notice, the elections official of the county to which the voter has moved shall send to the voter a voter registration card, and shall instruct the voter that in order to record a change of address, the voter must reregister on a new affidavit of registration. The elections official shall cancel the old registration for any election occurring at least 29 days after the receipt of the letter. 2121. No fees may be charged for registration. 2122. The county elections official may cause to be written or printed upon the top margin, or in the body of the affidavit, in addition to any matter provided for in this code, any words necessary or convenient to designate the precinct, district, or political subdivision for which the affidavit is taken, or to indicate any removal or transfer of registration. Any other reasonable memoranda may be added that is necessary or convenient to enable the county elections official to perform his or her duties in assorting or classifying or handling affidavits with correctness and dispatch. However, the memoranda shall not include notations, whether coded or not, that indicate that the registrant has signed a particular initiative, referendum, or recall petition unless the notations are made other than on the body of the affidavit of registration. Any memoranda, notations, devices, computer data, or other means or material employed by the elections official indicating which petition or petitions have been signed by any registrant shall be destroyed as soon as practicable after the certification of the results of the election for which the memoranda, notations, devices, computer data, or other means or material was used, or if no election is held, as soon as practicable after the final certification of the elections official showing the results of the examination of the petition. In no event shall the memoranda, notations, devices, computer data, or other means or material be retained for more than 30 days. The memoranda, notations, devices, computer data, or other means or material employed by the elections official indicating which petition or petitions have been signed by any registrant shall be available for the use of the elections official and his or her staff only and then only for the purposes for which they were prepared. Except as previously provided, they shall not be made available to any person or entity, public or private, for any purpose whatsoever. Memoranda added to the body of the affidavit of registration, which are not applicable to the requirements of Section 2150, shall not be deemed a portion of the affidavit. 2123. In accordance with Section 11 of the initiative act approved by a majority of the voters at the general election held on November 4, 1930, (Statutes of 1931, p. lxxxiii) and entitled "An act to amend Sections 1083a, 1094, 1095a, 1097, 1103, 1105, 1106, 1115, 1120, and to repeal Sections 1228 and 1229 of the Political Code, relating to registration of electors and conduct of elections," no amendment by the Legislature shall provide for a general biennial or other periodic reregistration of voters. 2124. The Secretary of State shall, by regulation, adopt uniform standards for proof of residency, which shall apply in all instances where voters and new registrants are required by law to prove residency.