SECTIONS 18560-18578 - California Statutes

ELECTIONS CODE

SECTION 18560-18578

18560. Every person is guilty of a crime punishable by imprisonment
in the state prison for 16 months or two or three years, or in
county jail not exceeding one year, who:
(a) Not being entitled to vote at an election, fraudulently votes
or fraudulently attempts to vote at that election.
(b) Being entitled to vote at an election, votes more than once,
attempts to vote more than once, or knowingly hands in two or more
ballots folded together at that election.
(c) Impersonates or attempts to impersonate a voter at an
election.

18561. Every person is punishable by imprisonment in the state
prison for 16 months or two or three years who:
(a) Procures, assists, counsels, or advises another to give or
offer his vote at any election, knowing that the person is not
qualified to vote.
(b) Aids or abets in the commission of any of the offenses
mentioned in Section 18560.

18562. Every member of a precinct board is guilty of a misdemeanor
who, prior to putting the ballot of a voter in the ballot box,
commits any of the following:
(a) Attempts to find out any name on the ballot.
(b) Opens or suffers to be opened or examined the folded ballot of
any voter which has been handed in.
(c) Makes or places any mark or device on any folded ballot with a
view to ascertaining the name of any person for whom the voter has
voted.

18562.5. (a) A member of the public is guilty of a misdemeanor if,
while observing any of the following, he or she willfully engages in
any conduct set forth in subdivision (b):
(1) The processing of vote by mail ballots conducted pursuant to
Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 15100) of Division 15.
(2) The semifinal official canvass conducted pursuant to Chapter 3
(commencing with Section 15150) of Division 15.
(3) The official canvass conducted pursuant to Chapter 4
(commencing with Section 15300) of Division 15.
(4) A recount conducted pursuant to Chapter 9 (commencing with
Section 15600) of Division 15.
(b) (1) Attempting to ascertain the identity and ballot choices of
a voter, or having observed or learned the identity of a voter,
attempting to ascertain the ballot choices of that voter.
(2) Opening a provisional or vote by mail ballot envelope
containing a voted ballot in order to ascertain the voter's ballot
choices.
(3) Making or placing a mark or device on a ballot or secrecy
envelope in an attempt to ascertain the voter's ballot choices.

18563. Every member of a precinct board is guilty of a misdemeanor
who, without the consent of a voter, discloses the name of any
candidate the board member has discovered in his capacity as a member
of the board to have been voted for by the voter.

18564. Any person is guilty of a felony, punishable by imprisonment
in a state prison for two, three, or four years who, before or
during an election:
(a) Tampers with, interferes with, or attempts to interfere with,
the correct operation of, or willfully damages in order to prevent
the use of, any voting machine, voting device, voting system, vote
tabulating device, or ballot tally software program source codes.
(b) Interferes or attempts to interfere with the secrecy of voting
or ballot tally software program source codes.
(c) Knowingly, and without authorization, makes or has in his or
her possession a key to a voting machine that has been adopted and
will be used in elections in this state.
(d) Willfully substitutes or attempts to substitute forged or
counterfeit ballot tally software program source codes.

18564.5. (a) The Secretary of State, Attorney General, and any
local elections official in the county in which the act occurs, may
bring a civil action against an individual, business, or other legal
entity that commits any of the following acts before, during, or
after an election:
(1) Tampers, interferes, or attempts to interfere with the correct
operation of, or willfully damages in order to prevent the use of,
any voting machine, voting device, voting system, vote tabulating
device, or ballot tally software.
(2) Interferes or attempts to interfere with the secrecy of voting
or interferes or attempts to interfere with ballot tally software
program source codes.
(3) Knowingly, and without authorization, gains access to or
provides another person or persons with access to a voting machine
for the purpose of committing one of the acts specified by this
section.
(4) Willfully substitutes or attempts to substitute forged,
counterfeit, or malicious ballot tally software program source codes.
(5) Knowingly, and without authorization, inserts or causes the
insertion of uncertified hardware, software, or firmware, for
whatever purpose, into any voting machine, voting device, voting
system, vote tabulating device, or ballot tally software.
(6) Fails to notify the Secretary of State prior to any change in
hardware, software, or firmware to a voting machine, voting device,
voting system, or vote tabulating device, certified or conditionally
certified for use in this state.
(b) A civil action may be brought pursuant to this section for a
civil penalty not to exceed fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) for each
act and for injunctive relief, if appropriate.

18565. Any person who aids or abets in the commission of any of the
offenses described in Section 18564 is punishable by imprisonment in
the county jail for a period of six months or in the state prison
for 16 months or two or three years.

18566. Every person is punishable by imprisonment in the state
prison for two, three, or four years who:
(a) Forges or counterfeits returns of an election purported to
have been held at a precinct where no election was in fact held.
(b) Willfully substitutes forged or counterfeit returns of
election in the place of true returns for a precinct where an
election was actually held.

18567. Every person who willfully adds to or subtracts from the
votes actually cast at an election, in any official or unofficial
returns, or who alters the returns, is punishable by imprisonment in
the state prison for 16 months or two or three years.

18568. Every person is punishable by a fine not exceeding one
thousand dollars ($1,000), or by imprisonment in the state prison for
16 months or two or three years, or by both the fine and
imprisonment, who:
(a) Aids in changing or destroying any poll list or official
ballot.
(b) Aids in wrongfully placing any ballots in the ballot container
or in taking any therefrom.
(c) Adds or attempts to add any ballots to those legally polled at
any election by fraudulently putting them into the ballot container,
either before or after the ballots therein have been counted.
(d) Adds to or mixes with, or attempts to add to or mix with, the
ballots polled, any other ballots, while they are being counted or
canvassed or at any other time, with intent to change the result of
the election, or allows another to do so, when in his or her power to
prevent it.
(e) Carries away or destroys, attempts to carry away or destroy,
or knowingly allows another to carry away or destroy, any poll list,
ballot container, or ballots lawfully polled or who willfully
detains, mutilates, or destroys any election returns.
(f) Removes any unvoted ballots from the polling place before the
completion of the ballot count.

18569. Every person who aids or abets in the commission of any of
the offenses mentioned in Section 18566, 18567, or 18568 is
punishable by imprisonment in the county jail for the period of six
months or in the state prison for 16 months or two or three years.

18570. Every person is guilty of a misdemeanor who does any one of
the following:
(a) Removes or defaces any posted copy of the results of votes
cast within the period of 48 hours from the official time fixed for
the closing of the polls.
(b) Delays delivery of or changes the copy of the result of votes
cast that is to be delivered to the city or county elections
official.

18571. Any person acting on any counting board who refuses to obey
any lawful order of the county elections official or his or her
deputy is guilty of a misdemeanor, unless he or she is by his or her
refusal guilty of a higher crime under the laws of this state.

18572. Each counting board and its members are subject to the
liabilities and penalties to which precinct boards or their members
are subject where the votes and returns are counted at the precincts
where they were polled.

18573. Every person is guilty of a felony punishable by
imprisonment in the state prison for 16 months or two or three years
who furnishes any voter wishing to vote, who cannot read, with a
ballot, informing or giving that voter to understand that it contains
a name written or printed thereon different from the name which is
written or printed thereon, or defrauds any voter at any election by
deceiving and causing him or her to vote for a different person for
any office than he or she intended or desired to vote for.

18574. Every person who, after being required by the precinct board
at an election, refuses to be sworn or, being sworn, refuses to
answer any pertinent questions propounded by the board touching the
right of another to vote, is guilty of a misdemeanor.

18575. Every person is guilty of a felony, and on conviction shall
be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for two, three or
four years, who at any election:
(a) Without first having been appointed and qualified, acts as an
election officer.
(b) Not being an election officer, performs or discharges any of
the duties of an election officer in regard to the handling,
counting, or canvassing of any ballots.

18576. Any person who willfully (a) interferes with the prompt
delivery of a completed vote by mail ballot application, (b) retains
a completed vote by mail ballot application, without the voter's
authorization, for more than three days excluding weekends and state
holidays, or by the deadline for return of vote by mail ballot
applications, whichever is earlier, or (c) denies an applicant the
right to return his or her own completed vote by mail ballot
application to the local elections official having jurisdiction over
the election, is guilty of a misdemeanor.

18577. Any person having charge of a completed vote by mail ballot
who willfully interferes or causes interference with its return to
the local elections official having jurisdiction over the election is
guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment in the county
jail not exceeding six months, by a fine not exceeding ten thousand
dollars ($10,000), or by both the fine and imprisonment.

18578. Any person who applies for, or who votes or attempts to
vote, a vote by mail ballot by fraudulently signing the name of a
fictitious person, or of a regularly qualified voter, or of a person
who is not qualified to vote, is guilty of a felony punishable by
imprisonment in the state prison for 16 months or two or three years,
by a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000), or by both
the fine and imprisonment.