SECTIONS 13230-13233 - California Statutes

ELECTIONS CODE

SECTION 13230-13233

13230. (a) If the county elections official determines that, due to
the number of candidates and measures that must be printed on the
ballot, the ballot will be larger than may be conveniently handled,
the county elections official may provide that a nonpartisan ballot
shall be given to each partisan voter, together with his or her
partisan ballot, and that the material appearing under the heading
"Voter Nominated and Nonpartisan Offices" on partisan ballots, as
well as the heading itself, shall be omitted from the partisan
ballots.
(b) If the county elections official so provides, the procedure
prescribed for the handling and canvassing of ballots shall be
modified to the extent necessary to permit the use of two ballots by
partisan voters. The county elections official may, in this case,
order the second ballot to be printed on paper of a different tint,
and assign to those ballots numbers higher than those assigned to the
ballots containing partisan offices.
(c) "Partisan voters," for purposes of this section, includes both
persons who have disclosed a party preference pursuant to Section
2151 or 2152 and persons who have declined to disclose a party
preference, but who have chosen to vote the ballot of a political
party as authorized by that party's rules duly noticed to the
Secretary of State.

13231. If the elections official of any county finds it necessary
in connection with the use of any approved method of vote counting,
he or she may provide for any of the following changes in the format
of ballots in one or more precincts at any election:
(a) Ballots may be bound and padded at the side.
(b) The left and right edge of ballots may be trimmed to the edge
of printed material.
(c) A series of punched holes may be provided in the upper
right-hand portion of each ballot.
(d) The ballot number may be placed at any place along the top
left-hand corner of the ballot.
(e) A cutout section, not to exceed two inches in depth,
commencing at the left-hand edge of the far right column of the
ballot, may be provided along the top edge of the ballot.
(f) Press perforations may be placed between columns of the
ballot, from top to bottom, to permit the folding of the ballot at
each perforation.
(g) "Yes" and "No" columns where necessary, may be as narrow as
one-quarter inch wide.
(h) The instructions to voters may be placed at the bottom of the
ballot instead of at the top of the ballot, and an appropriate
reference to the location of the instructions may be printed in the
upper right portion of the ballot.

13232. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, for the purpose
of conducting the Democratic Party Presidential Primary Election, the
Secretary of State may, if it is reasonably necessary to accommodate
the limitations of a voter system or vote tabulating device,
authorize the county elections officials to do any or all of the
following:
(a) Vary the order of any office or measure listed in Section
13109, with the exception of President of the United States, United
States Representative, State Senator, Member of the Assembly, and
judicial offices.
(b) Place any office listed in Section 13109 on a second ballot,
with the exception of United States Representative, State Senator,
Member of the State Assembly, judicial offices, County Superintendent
of Schools, County Board of Education Members, and county officers.
(c) Place any ballot measure, other than a state measure, on a
separate ballot.

13233. In a municipal election, if the number of candidates for an
office is such that all of the names will not fit in one column of
reasonable length, a double column may be used, and all of the
following provisions shall apply:
(a) The space between the two halves of the double column shall be
less than that between the double column and any other columns on
the ballot, and the lines separating the columns and the two halves
of the double column shall be printed so as to emphasize the fact
that the candidates in the double column are running for the same
office.
(b) The designation of the office and any other words required to
be at the top of a single column shall be printed across the top of
the entire double column with no dividing line. The words "Vote for
one," "Vote for two," or more, as the case may be, shall be centered
over the entire double column and shall be printed below any other
words at the top of the double column.
(c) The names of the candidates, including the blank space or
spaces necessary to permit the voter to write in the names of persons
not printed on the ballot, shall be apportioned as equally as
possible between the two columns. The odd space, if any, shall be
included in the left-hand column.
(d) The double column shall be used for no more than one office
and for no more than one term for any office.
(e) The order of names and blank spaces in the double column shall
be the same as would apply to a single column with the left-hand
side of the double column taken first.