Article 1. General Provisions of California Elections Code >> Division 15. >> Chapter 4. >> Article 1.

This chapter applies to all elections.

The canvass shall commence no later than the Thursday following the election, shall be open to the public, and, for state or statewide elections, shall result in a report of results to the Secretary of State. The canvass shall be continued daily, Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays excepted, for not less than six hours each day until completed.

The official canvass shall include, but not be limited to, the following tasks:
  (a) An inspection of all materials and supplies returned by poll workers.
  (b) A reconciliation of the number of signatures on the roster with the number of ballots recorded on the ballot statement.
  (c) In the event of a discrepancy in the reconciliation required by subdivision (b), the number of ballots received from each polling place shall be reconciled with the number of ballots cast, as indicated on the ballot statement.
  (d) A reconciliation of the number of ballots counted, spoiled, canceled, or invalidated due to identifying marks, overvotes, or as otherwise provided by statute, with the number of votes recorded, including vote by mail and provisional ballots, by the vote counting system.
  (e) Processing and counting any valid vote by mail and provisional ballots not included in the semifinal official canvass.
  (f) Counting any valid write-in votes.
  (g) Reproducing any damaged ballots, if necessary.
  (h) Reporting final results to the governing board and the Secretary of State, as required.

If the returns from any precinct are incomplete, ambiguous, not properly authenticated, or otherwise defective, the elections official may issue and serve subpoenas requiring members of the precinct board to appear and be examined under oath concerning the manner in which votes were counted and the result of the count in their precinct. This section shall apply when ballots are tabulated manually or automatically at the polls.

In jurisdictions using a central counting place, the elections official may appoint not less than three deputies to open the envelopes or containers with the materials returned from the precincts. If, after examination, any of the materials are incomplete, ambiguous, not properly authenticated, or otherwise defective, the precinct officers may be summoned before the elections official and examined under oath to describe polling place procedures and to correct the errors or omissions.