Article 2. Precinct Formation of California Elections Code >> Division 12. >> Chapter 3. >> Article 2.

The elections official shall divide the jurisdiction into precincts and prepare detail maps or exterior descriptions thereof, or both, and as many copies as the elections official may determine. The county surveyor, if requested by an elections official, shall provide assistance to the elections official in the preparation of these maps or exterior descriptions.

In any order establishing precincts, their boundaries shall be defined by reference to exterior descriptions or delineation thereof on a map or maps.

(a) No precinct shall be established so that its boundary crosses the boundary of any supervisorial district, congressional district, senatorial district, Assembly district, board of equalization district, judicial district, incorporated city, ward, or city council district.
  (b) If, at any election, any precinct contains an insufficient number of qualified persons to make up a precinct board, the precinct may be consolidated with an adjoining precinct.

(a) Whenever a jurisdiction is divided into election precincts or whenever the boundary of an established precinct is changed or a new precinct is created, the precinct boundary shall be fixed in a manner so that the number of voters in the precinct does not exceed 1,000 on the 88th day prior to the day of election, unless otherwise provided by law.
  (b) An elections official may subtract the number of permanent vote by mail voters, pursuant to Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 3200) of Division 3, from the total number of voters for purposes of complying with subdivision (a) if after subtracting the number of permanent vote by mail voters, the number of voters in the precinct does not exceed the percentage of nonpermanent vote by mail voters in the jurisdiction on the 88th day prior to the election multiplied by 1,000, unless otherwise provided by law.

At the discretion of the elections official, the voters of the precinct may be divided into two or more groups, as nearly equal as possible, and one precinct board appointed to serve each group. When the voters of a precinct are so divided, there may be one or more polling places, but there shall be a ballot box for and a set of returns from each group.

Whenever a precinct is entirely owned or controlled by the United States, and no permission is granted by the federal authorities for the establishment of precinct boards and polling places, precinct boards need not be appointed nor polling places designated, but in lieu thereof the elections official shall, not less than 88 days prior to election day, establish the precinct as a mail ballot precinct and conduct the election for that precinct in accordance with Section 3005.