(a) The Secretary of State is the chief elections officer of the state, and shall administer the provisions of the Elections Code. The Secretary of State shall see that elections are efficiently conducted and that state election laws are enforced. The Secretary of State may require elections officers to make reports concerning elections in their jurisdictions, which may include information about the identity of, and contact information for, the elections official who is responsible for conducting elections in the jurisdiction.

(b) If, at any time, the Secretary of State concludes that state election laws are not being enforced, the Secretary of State shall call the violation to the attention of the district attorney of the county or to the Attorney General. In these instances, the Secretary of State may assist the county elections officer in discharging the officer’s duties.

Terms Used In California Government Code 12172.5

  • County: includes city and county. See California Government Code 19
  • 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.
  • State: means the State of California, unless applied to the different parts of the United States. See California Government Code 18
  • Subdivision: means a subdivision of the section in which the term occurs unless some other section is expressly mentioned. See California Government Code 10

(c) In order to determine whether an elections law violation has occurred, the Secretary of State may examine voted, unvoted, spoiled, and canceled ballots, vote-counting computer programs, vote by mail ballot envelopes and applications, and supplies referred to in § 14432 of the Elections Code. The Secretary of State may also examine any other records of elections officials as the Secretary of State finds necessary in making a determination under this subdivision, subject to the restrictions set forth in Article 2 (commencing with Section 7924.100) of Chapter 2 of Part 5 of Division 10 of Title 1.

(d) The Secretary of State may adopt regulations to ensure the uniform application and administration of state election laws.

(Amended by Stats. 2021, Ch. 615, Sec. 169. (AB 474) Effective January 1, 2022. Operative January 1, 2023, pursuant to Sec. 463 of Stats. 2021, Ch. 615.)

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