California Elections Code 15101 – (a) Any jurisdiction in which vote by mail ballots are cast may …
(a) Any jurisdiction in which vote by mail ballots are cast may begin to process vote by mail ballot return envelopes beginning 29 days before the election. Processing vote by mail ballot return envelopes may include verifying the voter‘s signature on the vote by mail ballot return envelope pursuant to Section 3019 and updating voter history records.
(b) Any jurisdiction having the necessary computer capability may start to process vote by mail ballots on the 29th day before the election. Processing vote by mail ballots includes opening vote by mail ballot return envelopes, removing ballots, duplicating any damaged ballots, and preparing the ballots to be machine read, or machine reading them, including processing write-in votes so that they can be tallied by the machine, but under no circumstances may a vote count be accessed or released until 8 p.m. on the day of the election. All other jurisdictions shall start to process vote by mail ballots at 5 p.m. on the day before the election.
Terms Used In California Elections Code 15101
- Election: means any election including a primary that is provided for under this code. See California Elections Code 318
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Signature: includes either of the following:
California Elections Code 354.5
- Voter: means any elector who is registered under this code. See California Elections Code 359
(c) Results of any vote by mail ballot tabulation or count shall not be released before the close of the polls on the day of the election.
(Amended by Stats. 2021, Ch. 312, Sec. 7. (AB 37) Effective January 1, 2022.)