Chapter 1. Purchasing Procedures of California Elections Code >> Division 13. >> Chapter 1.

The person in charge of elections for any county, city and county, city, or district shall provide ballots for any elections within his or her jurisdiction, and shall cause to be printed on them the name of every candidate whose name has been certified to or filed with the proper officer pursuant to law and who, therefore, is entitled to a place on the appropriate ballot.

All expenses authorized and necessarily incurred in the preparation for, and conduct of, elections as provided in this code shall be paid from the county treasuries, except that when an election is called by the governing body of a city the expenses shall be paid from the treasury of the city. All payments shall be made in the same manner as other county or city expenditures are made. The elections official, in providing the materials required by this division, need not utilize the services of the county or city purchasing agent.

Ballot paper and ballot cards used by a jurisdiction holding an election pursuant to the laws of California shall be tinted and watermarked or overprinted with a design, to be furnished by the Secretary of State, so that the watermark or overprint is plainly discernible.

(a) The Secretary of State shall adopt regulations governing the manufacture, finishing, quality standards, distribution, and inventory control of ballot cards and ballot on demand systems. For commercial ballot manufacturers and finishers, the Secretary of State shall require a biennial inspection of the certified manufacturing, finishing, and storage facilities. The Secretary of State shall also approve each ballot card manufacturer, finisher, and ballot on demand system before manufacturing or finishing ballot cards, or deploying a ballot on demand system, for use in California elections.
  (b) Not later than five working days before the Secretary of State begins his or her initial inspection, the ballot card manufacturer, finisher, or ballot on demand system vendor shall disclose to the Secretary of State in writing any known flaw or defect in its ballot card manufacturing or finishing process, manufactured or finished ballot cards, or ballot on demand system that could adversely affect the future casting or tallying of votes. Once approved by the Secretary of State, the ballot card manufacturer, finisher, or ballot on demand system vendor shall notify the Secretary of State and the affected local elections officials in writing within two business days after it discovers any flaw or defect in its ballot card manufacturing or finishing process, manufactured or finished ballot cards, or ballot on demand system that could adversely affect the future casting or tallying of votes.

(a) A jurisdiction shall not purchase, lease, or contract for a ballot on demand system unless the ballot on demand system has been certified by the Secretary of State.
  (b) A vendor, company, or person shall not sell, lease, or contract with a jurisdiction for the use of a ballot on demand system unless the ballot on demand system has been certified by the Secretary of State.
  (c) This section does not preclude a jurisdiction from conducting research and development of a ballot on demand system. A ballot on demand system that is used for purposes of this subdivision shall not be used in an election conducted pursuant to this code unless the system has been certified by the Secretary of State.
  (d) The Secretary of State shall promulgate regulations for purposes of certifying ballot on demand systems.

(a) Before a user may purchase ballot cards, the user shall request in writing a release for a specific quantity of these ballot cards from the Secretary of State. If the request is in order, the Secretary of State shall issue a written release for that quantity to the manufacturer, or to the authorized warehouse, and to the user. The format, text, and use of the request and release shall be governed by regulations adopted by the Secretary of State.
  (b) Nothing in this section prohibits a verbal request or verbal release, provided that this verbal request or verbal release is immediately confirmed in writing. The regulations shall expressly deny the manufacturing of ballot cards without a specific release.

A user, vendor, or manufacturer shall not warehouse for a subsequent election ballot paper or ballot cards furnished or released by the Secretary of State for a specific election without first obtaining authorization in writing from the Secretary of State for the storage. The authorization shall include the particular details of the amount to be stored so that audit controls may be established and maintained. Ballot paper or ballot cards not used in that election, not authorized to be retained for subsequent elections, and not returned to the Secretary of State, shall be destroyed. A certificate of destruction setting forth the date of destruction and the amount of the ballot paper or ballot cards destroyed shall be transmitted to the Secretary of State.