California Elections Code 18544 – (a) Any person in possession of a firearm or any uniformed peace …
(a) Any person in possession of a firearm or any uniformed peace officer, private guard, or security personnel or any person who is wearing a uniform of a peace officer, guard, or security personnel, who is stationed in the immediate vicinity of, or posted at, a polling place without written authorization of the appropriate city or county elections official is punishable by a fine not exceeding ten thousand dollars ($10,000), by imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (h) of § 1170 of the Penal Code for 16 months or two or three years, or in a county jail not exceeding one year, or by both that fine and imprisonment.
(b) This section shall not apply to any of the following:
Terms Used In California Elections Code 18544
- 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
- Immediate vicinity: means the area within a distance of 100 feet from the room or rooms in which the voters are signing the roster and casting ballots. See California Elections Code 18546
- 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
(1) An unarmed uniformed guard or security personnel who is at the polling place to cast his or her vote.
(2) A peace officer who is conducting official business in the course of his or her public employment or who is at the polling place to cast his or her vote.
(3) A private guard or security personnel hired or arranged for by a city or county elections official.
(4) A private guard or security personnel hired or arranged for by the owner or manager of the facility or property in which the polling place is located if the guard or security personnel is not hired or arranged solely for the day on which an election is held.
(Amended by Stats. 2011, Ch. 15, Sec. 78. (AB 109) Effective April 4, 2011. Operative October 1, 2011, by Sec. 636 of Ch. 15, as amended by Stats. 2011, Ch. 39, Sec. 68.)