Article 3. Registration Procedures of California Elections Code >> Division 2. >> Chapter 2. >> Article 3.

The county elections official shall provide voter registration forms for use in registration by deputy registrars of voters. The voter registration forms shall be bound into books or pads. The affidavits included in the voter registration forms shall be numbered and shall have a stub attached as prescribed by Section 2160. Each affidavit and stub shall bear the same number. The numbering shall begin with one and continue in a sequence until all of the blanks provided are numbered. The numbering shall begin anew with each 1,000,000 affidavits of registration numbered pursuant to this section. Each set of numbers shall be designated alphabetically as a series, beginning with series A, following the first 1,000,000.

Each deputy registrar of voters shall be issued a receipt by the county elections official for all books or pads issued, specifying the numbers of the affidavits received. The deputy is responsible for them until they are returned to the county elections official.

When any elector is registered, his or her name, residence, and residence telephone number, if furnished, shall be entered on the stub attached to the original affidavit. If for any cause the affidavit is spoiled in the course of execution or a mistake is made, the affidavit shall not be destroyed, but the name of the elector for whom it was intended, with his or her residence, shall be entered on the stub as in other cases, and the stubs and affidavits each marked with the word "spoiled."

Individuals and organizations distributing voter registration cards pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 2158 and who receive completed voter registration cards from voters shall return the completed cards to the county elections official or shall deposit the cards in the postal service within three days, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and state holidays, of receipt from a voter.

(a) Notwithstanding any other law, an affiant's driver's license number, identification card number, social security number, and signature contained on an affidavit of registration are confidential and shall not be disclosed by an individual or organization that distributes voter registration cards pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 2158, or by a person entrusted with an affidavit of registration from an elector pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) of Section 2158. However, this subdivision shall not be construed to prohibit a person entrusted with an affidavit of registration from an elector pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) of Section 2158 from returning the affidavit to the individual or organization that distributed the voter registration card pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 2158.
  (b) An individual or organization that distributes voter registration cards pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 2158, a person entrusted with an affidavit of registration from an elector pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) of Section 2158, or an individual or organization that assists with the submission of an affidavit of registration electronically on the Internet Web site of the Secretary of State shall comply with both of the following:
  (1) Shall not use affidavit of registration information for any personal, private, or commercial purpose, including for any of the following:
  (A) The harassment of a voter or voter's household.
  (B) The advertising, solicitation, sale, or marketing of products or services to a voter or voter's household.
  (C) Reproduction in print, broadcast visual or audio, or display on the Internet.
  (2) Shall employ reasonable security measures, including employing administrative and physical safeguards, and, for affidavit of registration information available in an electronic form, technical safeguards, to protect the voter registration information from unlawful disclosure and misuse.

On the day of the close of registration for any election all deputy registrars of voters or individuals and organizations that have submitted plans for distribution shall immediately return all completed affidavits of registration in their possession to the county elections official. Unused affidavits shall be returned upon completion of the distribution plan.

On the day of the close of registration for any election all individuals and organizations that have submitted plans for distribution shall immediately return all completed affidavits of registration in their possession to the county elections official. Unused affidavits shall be returned upon completion of the distribution plan.

The county elections official shall report to the district attorney of the county, under oath, the name of any deputy registrar of voters who has not complied with this article.

The county elections official shall report to the district attorney of the county, under oath, the name of any individuals or organizations that have submitted plans for distribution who have not complied with this article.

If the county elections official deems a duplicate file of voter registration cards to be necessary for administrative purposes, the county elections official may prepare, upon the receipt in his or her office of each original affidavit of registration, a reproduction thereof in compliance with the following conditions:
  (a) The affidavit is photographed, microphotographed, or reproduced in a manner approved for permanent records by the National Bureau of Standards.
  (b) The device used to reproduce the affidavit is one that accurately reproduces the original thereof in all details.
  (c) The photographs, microphotographs, or other reproductions are placed in conveniently accessible files and provision is made for preserving, examining, and using the same. Wherever in this code the term duplicate affidavit is used it shall be deemed to include the reproduced affidavit authorized by this section. Any signature comparison required by this code may be made against these duplicates.

(a) If the county elections official refuses to register a qualified elector in the county, the elector may proceed by action in the superior court to compel his or her registration. In an action under this section, as many persons may join as plaintiffs as have causes of action.
  (b) If the county elections official has not registered a qualified elector who claims to have registered to vote through the Department of Motor Vehicles or any other public agency designated as a voter registration agency pursuant to the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. Sec. 20501), the elector may proceed by action in the superior court to compel his or her registration. In an action under this section, as many persons may join as plaintiffs as have causes of action.
  (c) No fee shall be charged by the clerk of the court for services rendered in an action under this section.

Costs shall not be recovered against the county elections official in any action under this chapter, unless it is alleged in the complaint, and established on the trial, that the county elections official knowingly and willfully violated his or her duty.