California Elections Code 18540 – (a) Every person who makes use of or threatens to make use of …
(a) Every person who makes use of or threatens to make use of any force, violence, or tactic of coercion or intimidation, to induce or compel any other person to vote or refrain from voting at any election or to vote or refrain from voting for any particular person or measure at any election, or because any person voted or refrained from voting at any election or voted or refrained from voting for any particular person or measure at any election is guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (h) of § 1170 of the Penal Code for 16 months or two or three years.
(b) Every person who hires or arranges for any other person to make use of or threaten to make use of any force, violence, or tactic of coercion or intimidation, to induce or compel any other person to vote or refrain from voting at any election or to vote or refrain from voting for any particular person or measure at any election, or because any person voted or refrained from voting at any election or voted or refrained from voting for any particular person or measure at any election is guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (h) of § 1170 of the Penal Code for 16 months or two or three years.
Terms Used In California Elections Code 18540
- Election: means any election including a primary that is provided for under this code. See California Elections Code 318
- Elections official: means the county elections official, registrar of voters, or city clerk. See California Elections Code 18546
- Measure: means any constitutional amendment or other proposition submitted to a popular vote at any election. See California Elections Code 329
- Polling place: means a location where a voter casts a ballot and includes the following terms, as applicable: poll, polling location, and vote center. See California Elections Code 338.5
(c) For purposes of this section, “voting at any election” includes, but is not limited to, voting in person at a polling place or at the office of the elections official, including satellite locations pursuant to Section 3018, and voting by mail and returning a voted ballot pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 3017.
(Amended by Stats. 2023, Ch. 611, Sec. 2. (SB 485) Effective January 1, 2024.)