Amended  IN  Assembly  April 27, 2026
Amended  IN  Senate  January 05, 2026

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill
No. 73

Introduced by Senator Cervantes Senators Cervantes and Umberg
(Principal coauthor: Assembly Member Pellerin)
(Coauthor: Assembly Member Elhawary)

January 15, 2025

An act to amend Section 19230 of Sections 15104, 15551, 18544, 18545, 18564.5, 18568, and 19230, and to add Sections 22, 15006, 15007, 15104.5, and 15553 to, the Elections Code, relating to elections, and declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect immediately.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


SB 73, as amended, Cervantes. Elections: inspection of voting systems.
(1) Existing law requires a state or local agency or political subdivision that files or is served with a court action relating to elections that contains a claim arising under federal law to provide written notice to the Secretary of State and the Attorney General, as specified.
This bill would require an elections official to immediately notify the Secretary of State and the Attorney General when a court order related to the search or seizure of a voting system or other specified records, software or materials, is being executed.
(2) Existing state and federal law provides for the enforcement of laws related to elections.
This bill would prohibit a peace officer from interfering with the administration of an election, as specified, from establishing or attempting to establish the qualifications of voters, or from imposing rules, standards, or practices contrary to state elections law. This bill would authorize certain persons to enforce those prohibitions by filing a civil action, as specified. This bill would also prohibit any individual from permitting an agent of a law enforcement agency, as specified, to access, disrupt, modify, or take possession of rosters, combined rosters, or voter lists unless authorized by a court order. The bill would additionally require the Attorney General to provide guidance and information regarding how to respond to requests by law enforcement, as defined, to access areas where ballots are present.
(3) Existing law requires an elections official, upon receiving a vote by mail ballot, to compare the signature on the identification envelope with the voter’s prior signatures, and it also provides a mechanism by which a voter can verify their signature and cure this defect. Existing law provides that the processing of vote by mail ballots is open to the public and permits specified persons and organizations to observe this processing.
This bill would prohibit a vote by mail observer from challenging a signature on a vote by mail ballot that has been verified by the voter. This bill would also prohibit an elections official from permitting an agent of a law enforcement agency, as defined, acting in their official capacity from serving as a vote by mail voter observer.
(4) Under existing law, it is a crime for a person in possession of a firearm, a uniformed peace officer, private guard, or security personnel, or any person wearing the uniform of a peace officer, guard, or security personnel, to be stationed in the immediate vicinity of, or posted at, a polling place without authorization from the appropriate elections official.
This bill would expand this prohibition by removing the qualifier that a peace officer, private guard, or security personnel be in uniform to be subject to the prohibition. This bill would authorize the Secretary of State and the Attorney General to object to authorization granted by an appropriate elections official, so that the person whose authorization has been objected to may not possess a firearm in that location.
(5) Existing law establishes a crime punishable by a fine, imprisonment, or both, for a person who hires or arranges for a person in possession of a firearm or any uniformed law enforcement officer, private guard, or security personnel or any person who is wearing a uniform of a law enforcement officer, guard, or security personnel, to be stationed in the immediate vicinity of, or posted at, a polling place without written authorization of the appropriate elections official.
This bill would expand this prohibition to include military personnel and remove the qualifier that a law enforcement officer, military personnel, private guard, or security personnel be in uniform to be subject to the prohibition. This bill would authorize the Secretary of State and the Attorney General to object to authorization granted by an appropriate elections official, so that the person whose authorization has been objected to may not be stationed in the immediate vicinity of, or posted at, a polling place or a county elections office.
(6) Existing law authorizes the Secretary of State, Attorney General, and any local elections official in the county in which the act occurs, to bring a civil action against an individual, business, or other legal entity that commits any specified act of tampering with a voting system or voting equipment before, during, or after an election.
This bill would additionally authorize the Secretary of State, Attorney General, and the appropriate local elections official to bring a civil action against a person, business, or entity that takes a package containing ballots from the custody of an elections official, as specified.
(7) Existing law makes it a crime for an individual to undertake a number of enumerated actions that would result in interference with an election, including displaying a container for the purpose of collecting ballots with the intent to deceive a voter into casting a ballot in an unofficial ballot box.
This bill would also make it a crime to take a package containing ballots out of the custody of an elections official, as specified. By expanding the scope of these crimes, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
(8) Existing law requires the elections official of any county or city using a voting system to inspect the machines or devices at least once every 2 years.
This bill would prohibit an individual from permitting an agent of a law enforcement agency, as defined, to access, disrupt, modify, or take possession of a voting system machine, device, software, or source code, unless authorized by a court order. To the extent this bill would establish new procedures for the conduct of elections, it would create a state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that with regard to certain mandates no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
With regard to any other mandates, this bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs so mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.

Existing law requires the elections official of any county or city using a voting system to inspect the machines or devices at least once every 2 years.

This bill would prohibit the elections official from permitting a federal government agency or its employees to inspect a voting system machine or device, unless authorized by a federal court order. To the extent this bill would establish new procedures for the conduct of elections, it would create a state-mandated local program.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.

This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Vote: 2/3   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: YES  

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:


SECTION 1.

 Section 22 is added to the Elections Code, to read:

22.
 When a court order is being executed related to the search or seizure of a voting system machine or device, software, or source code, or of rosters, combined rosters, or voter lists, or voted ballots or vote by mail ballot envelopes, or any other elections materials, records, or equipment, the elections official required to comply with the court order shall provide immediate notice to the Secretary of State and Attorney General.

SEC. 2.

 Section 15006 is added to the Elections Code, to read:

15006.
 (a) (1) The Attorney General shall provide guidance and information to county elections officials regarding how elections officials, precinct boards, election workers, and election volunteers should respond to requests by an agent of a law enforcement agency to access to areas where ballots are cast, handled, processed, counted, tabulated, tallied, audited, or recounted.
(2) The Attorney General shall publish and provide guidance to building owners and employers regarding how to respond to requests by an agent of a law enforcement agency to access areas where ballots are cast, handled, processed, counted, tabulated, tallied, audited, or recounted.
(b) The guidance and information provided pursuant to subdivision (a) shall be consistent with federal and state law and is intended to ensure that all voting locations remain safe and accessible to all voters.
(c) For the purposes of this section, “Law enforcement agency” means all of the following:
(1) Any law enforcement agency, department, or other entity of the state or any political subdivision thereof, that employs any peace officer described in Chapter 4.5 (commencing with Section 830) of Title 3 of Part 2 of the Penal Code.
(2) Any law enforcement agency of another state.
(3) Any federal law enforcement agency.

SEC. 3.

 Section 15007 is added to the Elections Code, to read:

15007.
 (a) A peace officer shall not do any of the following:
(1) Establish or attempt to establish the qualifications of voters at any election in the state contrary to the laws of the state.
(2) Impose or attempt to impose a rule, standard, or practice for conducting any election in this state contrary to the laws of the state.
(3) Interfere in any manner with the administration of any election in this state and in the discharge of duties by the Secretary of State, a county elections official, an election worker, or a volunteer performing required elections-related tasks prescribed by this code or any other provision of state law except as necessary to respond to urgent threats to public health and safety.
(b) The following persons may bring a civil action to enforce the provisions of this section:
(1) The Attorney General.
(2) The Secretary of State.
(3) A county elections official with respect to violations that occur within the elections official’s county.
(c) A court shall expedite the scheduling and disposition of a civil action brought pursuant to this section if the action is filed during the period beginning thirty days before election day and ending with the completion of the canvass.
(d) The provisions of this section shall not prevent a qualified elector from exercising their right to vote in an election in this state and shall not be construed to authorize an action that would be prohibited by federal law or to limit any federal authority that is validly exercised pursuant to federal law.
(e) A violation of this Section is subject to the penalties in subdivision (d) of Section 18541.

SEC. 4.

 Section 15104 of the Elections Code is amended to read:

15104.
 (a) The processing of vote by mail ballot return envelopes, and the processing and counting of vote by mail ballots, shall be open to the public, both prior to and after the election.
(b) A member of the county grand jury, and at least one member each of the Republican county central committee, the Democratic county central committee, and of any other party with a candidate on the ballot, and any other interested organization, shall be permitted to observe and challenge the manner in which the vote by mail ballots are handled, from the processing of vote by mail ballot return envelopes through the counting and disposition of the ballots.
(c) The elections official shall notify vote by mail voter observers and the public at least 48 hours in advance of the dates, times, and places where vote by mail ballots will be processed and counted.
(d) Notwithstanding paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) of Section 2194, vote by mail voter observers shall be allowed sufficiently close access to enable them to observe the vote by mail ballot return envelopes and the signatures thereon and challenge whether those individuals handling vote by mail ballots are following established procedures, including all of the following:
(1) Verifying signatures on the vote by mail ballot return envelopes by comparing them to voter registration information.
(2) Duplicating accurately damaged or defective ballots.
(3) Securing vote by mail ballots to prevent tampering with them before they are counted.
(4) Verifying signatures on statements completed pursuant to subdivisions (d) and (e) of Section 3019.
(e) A vote by mail voter observer shall not interfere with the orderly processing of vote by mail ballot return envelopes or the processing and counting of vote by mail ballots, including the touching or handling of the ballots.
(f) A vote by mail voter observer shall not be permitted to challenge a signature on statements completed pursuant to subdivisions (d) and (e) of Section 3019 on the basis that they believe the signature does not compare with the signatures appearing in the voter’s registration record.

SEC. 5.

 Section 15104.5 is added to the Elections Code, to read:

15104.5.
 (a) During the voting period, on Election Day, or during the canvass of the vote, an individual shall not permit an agent of a law enforcement agency who is acting in their official capacity to serve as a vote by mail voter observer pursuant to Section 15104, unless authorized by a court order.
(b) This section shall not be construed to prevent an elections official from authorizing in writing agents of a law enforcement agency to provide logistical or security support at a polling place or county elections office pursuant to Sections 18544 and 18545.
(c) For the purposes of this section, “Law enforcement agency” means all of the following:
(1) Any law enforcement agency, department, or other entity of the state or any political subdivision thereof, that employs any peace officer described in Chapter 4.5 (commencing with Section 830) of Title 3 of Part 2 of the Penal Code.
(2) Any law enforcement agency of another state.
(3) Any federal law enforcement agency.

SEC. 6.

 Section 15551 of the Elections Code is amended to read:

15551.
 (a) If a contest or any such criminal prosecution has been commenced prior to before the date fixed for its destruction, the package containing the voted ballots shall be subject to the order of the court in which the contest or criminal prosecution is pending and shall not be destroyed until after final determination of the contest or criminal prosecution.
(b) In the case of a congressional election contest, the elections official shall hold the ballots of that congressional district in custody subject to the inspection of any committee of the House of Representatives having in charge the investigation of the contest, until the final determination of the contest by the House of Representatives.
(c) In the case of a contest in the State Legislature, the elections official shall hold the ballots of the Senate or Assembly district in custody subject to the inspection of any committee of the Senate or Assembly having in charge the investigation of the contest until the final determination of the contest or the final adjournment of the session of the Legislature in which the contest is filed, whichever is the later.
(d) In no event shall the package or its contents be taken from the custody of the elections official.

SEC. 7.

 Section 15553 is added to the Elections Code, to read:

15553.
 (a) In no event shall any individual permit an agent of a law enforcement agency to access, disrupt, modify, or take possession of rosters, combined rosters, or voter lists unless authorized by a court order or to investigate a violation of subdivision (b) of Section 18560.
(b) For the purposes of this section, “Law enforcement agency” means all of the following:
(1) Any law enforcement agency, department, or other entity of the state or any political subdivision thereof, that employs any peace officer described in Chapter 4.5 (commencing with Section 830) of Title 3 of Part 2 of the Penal Code.
(2) Any law enforcement agency of another state.
(3) Any federal law enforcement agency.

SEC. 8.

 Section 18544 of the Elections Code is amended to read:

18544.
 (a) Any person in possession of a firearm or any uniformed peace officer, private guard, or security personnel or any person who is wearing a uniform of a peace officer, guard, or security personnel, who is stationed in the immediate vicinity of, or posted at, a polling place without written authorization of the appropriate city or county elections official official unless objected to by the Secretary of State or the Attorney General after the authorization has been granted is punishable by a fine not exceeding ten thousand dollars ($10,000), by imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170 of the Penal Code for 16 months or two or three years, or in a county jail not exceeding one year, or by both that fine and imprisonment.
(b) This section shall not apply to any of the following:
(1) An unarmed uniformed guard or security personnel who is at the polling place to cast his or her their vote.
(2) A peace officer who is conducting official business in the course of his or her their public employment or who is at the polling place to cast his or her their vote.
(3) A private guard or security personnel hired or arranged for by a city or county elections official.
(4) A private guard or security personnel hired or arranged for by the owner or manager of the facility or property in which the polling place is located if the guard or security personnel is not hired or arranged solely for the day on which an election is held.

SEC. 9.

 Section 18545 of the Elections Code is amended to read:

18545.
 (a) Any person who hires or arranges for any other person in possession of a firearm or any uniformed law enforcement officer, private guard, military personnel, or security personnel or any person who is wearing a uniform of a law enforcement officer, guard, a law enforcement officer, private guard, military personnel, or security personnel, to be stationed in the immediate vicinity of, or posted at, a polling place or a county elections office without written authorization of the appropriate elections official official, unless objected to by the Secretary of State or the Attorney General after the authorization has been granted, or written authorization by a federal court order order, is punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for a period not to exceed one year, by a fine not to exceed ten thousand dollars ($10,000), or by both that fine and imprisonment, or by imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170 of the Penal Code and by a fine not to exceed ten thousand dollars ($10,000).
(b) This section does not apply to the owner or manager of the facility or property in which the polling place is located if the private guard or security personnel is not hired or arranged solely for the day on which the election is held.
(c) For purposes of this section, “law enforcement officer” means either of the following:
(1) A peace officer as defined in Section 830 of the Penal Code.
(2) An officer or agent of a federal law enforcement agency or any person acting on behalf of a federal law enforcement agency.

SEC. 10.

 Section 18564.5 of the Elections Code is amended to read:

18564.5.
 (a) The Secretary of State, Attorney General, and any local elections official in the county in which the act occurs, may bring a civil action against an individual, business, or other legal entity that commits any of the following acts before, during, or after an election:
(1) Tampers, interferes, or attempts to interfere with the correct operation of, or willfully damages in order to prevent the use of, any voting machine, voting device, voting system, vote tabulating device, or ballot tally software.
(2) Interferes or attempts to interfere with the secrecy of voting or interferes or attempts to interfere with ballot tally software program source codes.
(3) Knowingly, and without authorization, gains access to or provides another person or persons with access to a voting machine for the purpose of committing one of the acts specified by this section.
(4) Willfully substitutes or attempts to substitute forged, counterfeit, or malicious ballot tally software program source codes.
(5) Knowingly, and without authorization, inserts or causes the insertion of uncertified hardware, software, or firmware, for whatever purpose, into any voting machine, voting device, voting system, vote tabulating device, or ballot tally software.
(6) Fails to notify the Secretary of State prior to any change in hardware, software, or firmware to a voting machine, voting device, voting system, or vote tabulating device, certified or conditionally certified for use in this state.
(7) Takes a package containing the voted ballots or its contents from the custody of the elections official in violation of subdivision (d) of Section 15551.
(b) A civil action may be brought pursuant to this section for a civil penalty not to exceed fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) for each act and for injunctive relief, if appropriate.

SEC. 11.

 Section 18568 of the Elections Code is amended to read:

18568.
 Every person is punishable by a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000), or by imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170 of the Penal Code for 16 months or two or three years, or by both that fine and imprisonment, who:
(a) Aids in changing or destroying any poll list or official ballot.
(b) Aids in wrongfully placing any ballots in the ballot container or in taking any therefrom.
(c) Adds or attempts to add any ballots to those legally polled at any election by fraudulently putting them into the ballot container, either before or after the ballots therein have been counted.
(d) Adds to or mixes with, or attempts to add to or mix with, the ballots polled, any other ballots, while they are being counted or canvassed or at any other time, with intent to change the result of the election, or allows another to do so, when in the person’s power to prevent it.
(e) Carries away or destroys, attempts to carry away or destroy, or knowingly allows another to carry away or destroy, any poll list, ballot container, or ballots lawfully polled or who willfully detains, mutilates, or destroys any election returns.
(f) Removes any unvoted ballots from the polling place before the completion of the ballot count.
(g) Displays a container or provides an envelope for the purpose of collecting or returning ballots, with the intent to deceive a voter into casting a ballot in an unofficial ballot or returning a ballot in an unofficial ballot return envelope. Evidence of intent to deceive may include using the word “official” on the container or envelope, or otherwise fashioning the container or envelope in a way that is likely to deceive a voter into believing that the container or envelope is an official collection box or official ballot return envelope that has been approved by an elections official.
(h) Directs or solicits a voter to place a ballot in a container or envelope prohibited by subdivision (g).
(i) Knowingly takes a package containing voted ballots or its contents from the custody of the elections official in violation of subdivision (d) of Section 15551.

SEC. 12.

 Section 19230 of the Elections Code is amended to read:

19230.
 (a) The elections official of any county or city county, city, or city and county using a voting system shall inspect the machines or devices at least once every two years to determine their accuracy. Any county or city county, city, or city and county using leased or rented equipment shall determine if the equipment has been inspected for accuracy within the last two years before using it for any election. The inspection shall be made in accordance with regulations adopted and promulgated by the Secretary of State. The elections official shall certify the results of the inspection to the Secretary of State.
(b) No individual shall allow an agent of a law enforcement agency to access, disrupt, modify, or take possession of a voting system machine or device, software, or source code, unless authorized by a court order.
(c) For the purposes of this section, “Law enforcement agency” means all of the following:
(1) Any law enforcement agency, department, or other entity of the state or any political subdivision thereof, that employs any peace officer described in Chapter 4.5 (commencing with Section 830) of Title 3 of Part 2 of the Penal Code.
(2) Any law enforcement agency of another state.
(3) Any federal law enforcement agency.

SECTION 1.Section 19230 of the Elections Code is amended to read:
19230.

(a)The elections official of any county or city using a voting system shall inspect the machines or devices at least once every two years to determine their accuracy. Any county or city using leased or rented equipment shall determine if the equipment has been inspected for accuracy within the last two years before using it for any election. The inspection shall be made in accordance with regulations adopted and promulgated by the Secretary of State. The elections official shall certify the results of the inspection to the Secretary of State.

(b)(1)The elections official of any county or city using a voting system shall not permit a federal government agency or its employees to inspect a voting system machine or device, unless authorized by a federal court order.

(2)For purposes of this subdivision, “federal government agency” includes, but is not limited to, the United States Department of Justice, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Department of Defense.

SEC. 2.SEC. 13.

 The provisions of this bill shall be construed and applied in a manner that is consistent with the requirements of the California Constitution and the Constitution of the United States.

SEC. 3.SEC. 14.

 The provisions of this act are severable. If any provision of this act or its application is held invalid, that invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications that can be given effect without the invalid provision or application.
SEC. 4.

If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.

SEC. 15.

 No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution for certain costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district because, in that regard, this act creates a new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution.
However, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains other costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.

SEC. 5.SEC. 16.

 This act is an urgency statute necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within the meaning of Article IV of the California Constitution and shall go into immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:
In order for this act to apply to the statewide primary election occurring on June 2, 2026, it is necessary that this act take effect immediately.