Existing law generally requires county elections officials to divide the county into precincts and designate a polling place for each precinct. As an alternative, a county elections official may conduct any election using vote centers instead of polling places. Existing law requires counties that conduct elections using vote centers to provide at least 2 ballot dropoff locations within the jurisdiction where the election is held or at least 1 ballot dropoff location for every 15,000 registered voters, whichever results in more ballot dropoff locations. Existing law requires other counties to provide at least 2 ballot dropoff locations within the jurisdiction or at least 1 ballot dropoff location for every 30,000 registered voters. Ballot dropoff locations must be open beginning at least 28 days before the election. Under existing law, a vote by mail ballot is timely cast if it is postmarked on or before election day and received in the mail by the voter’s elections official no later than 7 days after election day. Existing law prohibits and makes it a misdemeanor to engage in specified electioneering activities within 100 feet of a polling place, elections official’s office, satellite location, or an outdoor site at which a voter may cast or drop off a ballot.

This bill, for elections in 2026 through 2028, except for the June 2026 statewide primary, would do the following: (1) require all counties to provide at least 2 ballot dropoff locations or at least 1 ballot dropoff location for every 11,250 registered voters, and require that these ballot dropoff locations be open beginning at least 30 days before the election; (2) deem vote by mail ballots timely cast if they are received by the elections official up to 10 days after election day; (3) prohibit federal, state, or local law enforcement officers from making arrests within 200 feet of a polling place on election day, except for a crime related to disrupting the operation of the polling place; (4) extend the prohibition on electioneering activities to within 200 feet of the specified voting locations; and (5) authorize a county elections official to extend the time for closing the polls at any polling place if the county elections official determines that voting at the polling place was disrupted as a result of a violation of the prohibitions on enforcement of federal immigration laws or electioneering.

This bill would provide that with regard to certain mandates no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.