(a) Upon the declaration of an out-of-state emergency by the Governor and the issuance of an executive order authorizing an out-of-state emergency worker to cast a ballot outside of their home precinct, a county elections official shall, upon request of an out-of-state emergency worker pursuant to this chapter, issue a vote by mail ballot to the out-of-state emergency worker using a process to be determined by that elections official. The process shall include all of the following:

(1) Authorization for a vote by mail ballot and accompanying voting materials to be sent to an out-of-state emergency worker by mail, facsimile transmission, or electronic transmission, as requested by the out-of-state emergency worker. An elections official may use reasonable facsimiles of the county voter information guides sent to voters as vote by mail ballots.

Terms Used In California Elections Code 3021.5

  • Elections official: means any of the following:

    California Elections Code 320

  • Out-of-state emergency worker: means a voter who is officially engaged in responding to the proclamation of an out-of-state emergency and whose vocation has been identified in an executive order relating to the state of emergency. See California Elections Code 336.7
  • Precinct: means a geographical area within a county that is made up of voters and is formed pursuant to Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 12200) of Division 12. See California Elections Code 338.6
  • Voter: means any elector who is registered under this code. See California Elections Code 359

(2) A requirement that an out-of-state emergency worker mark the vote by mail ballot provided to them, place it in the vote by mail ballot identification envelope, and return the vote by mail ballot to the elections official from whom it was obtained. If no identification envelope is provided, the envelope used to return the vote by mail ballot to the elections official shall include the information required by subdivision (a) of Section 3011 and a statement signed under penalty of perjury that the voter is an out-of-state emergency worker.

(b) In order to be counted, a vote by mail ballot cast pursuant to this section shall be received in compliance with Section 3020.

(c) An elections official shall receive and canvass vote by mail ballots cast pursuant to this section by the same procedure as for all other vote by mail ballots cast pursuant to this chapter.

(Amended by Stats. 2022, Ch. 161, Sec. 16. (AB 2608) Effective August 22, 2022.)

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