SECTIONS 18540-18548 - California Statutes

ELECTIONS CODE

SECTION 18540-18548

18540. (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 in the state prison 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 in
the state prison for 16 months or two or three years.

18541. (a) No person shall, with the intent of dissuading another
person from voting, within 100 feet of a polling place, do any of the
following:
(1) Solicit a vote or speak to a voter on the subject of marking
his or her ballot.
(2) Place a sign relating to voters' qualifications or speak to a
voter on the subject of his or her qualifications except as provided
in Section 14240.
(3) Photograph, video record, or otherwise record a voter entering
or exiting a polling place.
(b) Any violation of this section is punishable by imprisonment in
a county jail for not more than 12 months, or in the state prison.
Any person who conspires to violate this section is guilty of a
felony.
(c) For purposes of this section, 100 feet means a distance of 100
feet from the room or rooms in which voters are signing the roster
and casting ballots.

18542. Every employer, whether a corporation or natural person, or
any other person who employs, is guilty of a misdemeanor if, in
paying his or her employees the salary or wages due them, encloses
their pay in pay envelopes upon which or in which there is written or
printed the name of any candidate or any political mottoes, devices,
or arguments containing threats, express or implied, intended or
calculated to influence the political opinions or actions of the
employees.

18543. (a) Every person who knowingly challenges a person's right
to vote without probable cause or on fraudulent or spurious grounds,
or who engages in mass, indiscriminate, and groundless challenging of
voters solely for the purpose of preventing voters from voting or to
delay the process of voting, or who fraudulently advises any person
that he or she is not eligible to vote or is not registered to vote
when in fact that person is eligible or is registered, or who
violates Section 14240, is punishable by imprisonment in the county
jail for not more than 12 months or in the state prison.
(b) Every person who conspires to violate subdivision (a) is
guilty of a felony.

18544. (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 in the
state prison for 16 months or two or three years or in a county jail
not exceeding one year, or by both the fine and imprisonment.
(b) This section shall not apply to any of the following:
(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.

18545. Any person who hires or arranges for any other 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, to be stationed in
the immediate vicinity of, or posted at, a polling place without
written authorization of the appropriate elections official is
punishable by a fine not exceeding ten thousand dollars ($10,000), by
imprisonment in the state prison for 16 months or two or three years
or in a county jail not exceeding one year, or by both the fine and
imprisonment. This section shall not apply to the owner or manager of
the facility or property in which the polling place is located if
the private guard or security personnel is not hired or arranged
solely for the day on which the election is held.

18546. As used in this article:
(a) "Elections official" means the county elections official,
registrar of voters, or city clerk.
(b) "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.

18547. (a) In addition to any other fine or penalty imposed by this
article, the court may order any person convicted of violating this
article to pay a restitution fine, the amount of which shall be
determined by the court and be commensurate with the seriousness of
the offense.
(b) The moneys derived from the fine assessed pursuant to
subdivision (a) shall be deposited in the Voter Intimidation
Restitution Fund, created in Section 18548.

18548. The Voter Intimidation Restitution Fund is hereby
established in the State Treasury. Upon appropriation by the
Legislature, moneys in the fund shall be allocated to the Secretary
of State to be used in voter education campaigns addressing the
specific crime committed by anyone convicted of violating this
article. The funds shall also be used for the administrative costs
associated with distribution of the fund.