3100-3112
ELECTIONS CODE
SECTION 3100-3112
3100. When a voter who qualifies as a special absentee voter
pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 300 applies for a vote by mail
ballot, the application shall be deemed to be an affidavit of
registration and an application for permanent vote by mail status,
pursuant to Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 3200). The application
must be completed by the voter and must contain the voter's name,
residence address for voting purposes, the address to which the
ballot is to be sent, the voter's political party for a primary
election, and the voter's signature.
If the applicant is not a resident of the county to which he or
she has applied, the elections official receiving the application
shall forward it immediately to the proper county.
3101. Upon timely receipt of the application for a vote by mail
ballot, the elections official shall examine the application to
ascertain that it is properly executed in accordance with this code.
If the elections official is satisfied of this fact, the applicant
shall be deemed a duly registered voter as of the date appearing on
the application to the same extent and with the same effect as though
he or she had registered in proper time prior to the election.
3102. Applications for the ballots of special absentee voters shall
be received and, except as provided in Section 3103.5, the ballots
shall be received and canvassed, at the same time and under the same
procedure as vote by mail ballots, insofar as that procedure is not
inconsistent with this chapter.
3103. (a) Any application made pursuant to this chapter that is
received by the elections official prior to the 60th day before the
election shall be kept and processed on or after the 60th day before
the election.
(b) The elections official shall immediately send the voter a
ballot in a form prescribed and provided by the Secretary of State.
The elections official shall send with the ballot a list of all
candidates who have qualified for the ballot by the 60th day before
the election and a list of all measures that are to be submitted to
the voters and on which the voter is qualified to vote. The voter
shall be entitled to write in the name of any specific candidate
seeking nomination or election to any office listed on the ballot.
(c) Notwithstanding Section 15341 or any other provision of law,
any name written upon a ballot for a particular office pursuant to
subdivision (b) shall be counted for the office or nomination,
providing the candidate whose name has been written on the ballot
has, as of the date of the election, qualified to have his or her
name placed on the ballot for the office, or has qualified as a
write-in candidate for the office.
(d) Except as provided in Section 3103.5, the elections official
shall receive and canvass special absentee voter ballots described in
this section under the same procedure as vote by mail ballots,
insofar as that procedure is not inconsistent with this section.
(e) In the event that a voter executes a special absentee ballot
pursuant to this section and an application for a vote by mail ballot
pursuant to Section 3101, the elections official shall cancel the
voter's permanent vote by mail status, and process the application in
accordance with Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 3000).
(f) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a special absentee
voter who qualifies pursuant to this section may, by facsimile
transmission, register to vote and apply for a special absentee
ballot or a vote by mail ballot. Upon request, the elections official
may send to the qualified special absentee voter either by mail,
facsimile, or electronic transmission the special absentee ballot or,
if available, a vote by mail ballot pursuant to Chapter 1
(commencing with Section 3000).
3103.5. (a) A special absentee voter who is temporarily living
outside of the territorial limits of the United States or the
District of Columbia, or is called for military service within the
United States on or after the final date to make application for a
vote by absent voter ballot, may return his or her ballot by
facsimile transmission. To be counted, the ballot returned by
facsimile transmission must be received by the voter's elections
official no later than the closing of the polls on election day and
must be accompanied by an identification envelope containing all of
the information required by Section 3011 and an oath of voter
declaration in substantially the following form:
OATH OF VOTER
I,________, acknowledge that by returning my voted
ballot by facsimile transmission I have waived my
right to have my ballot
kept secret. Nevertheless, I understand that, as
with any vote by mail
voter, my signature, whether on this oath of
voter form or my identification
envelope, will be permanently separated from my
voted ballot to maintain
its secrecy at the outset of the tabulation
process and thereafter.
My residence address is________
(Street
____________________________.
Address) (City) (ZIP Code)
My current mailing address is________
(Street
___________________________.
Address) (City) (ZIP Code)
My e-mail address is _________________. My
facsimile
transmission
number is _________________.
I am a resident of __________ County, State of
California, and I have
not
applied, nor intend to apply, for a vote by mail
ballot from any other jurisdiction for the same
election.
I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws
of the State of California that the foregoing is
true and correct.
Dated this __________ day of ______, 20_____.
(Signature)_______________________________________
voter (power of attorney cannot be accepted)
YOUR BALLOT CANNOT BE COUNTED UNLESS YOU SIGN
THE
ABOVE OATH AND INCLUDE IT WITH YOUR BALLOT
AND
IDENTIFICATION ENVELOPE, ALL OF WHICH ARE
RETURNED
BY FACSIMILE TRANSMISSION.
(b) Notwithstanding the voter's waiver of the right to a secret
ballot, each elections official shall adopt appropriate procedures to
protect the secrecy of ballots returned by facsimile transmission.
(c) Upon receipt of a ballot returned by facsimile transmission,
the elections official shall determine the voter's eligibility to
vote by comparing the signature on the return information with the
signature on the voter's affidavit of registration. The ballot shall
be duplicated and all materials preserved according to procedures set
forth in this code.
(d) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), a special absentee voter who
is permitted to return his or her ballot by facsimile transmission
is, nonetheless, encouraged to return his or her ballot by mail or in
person if possible. A special absentee voter should return a ballot
by facsimile transmission only if doing so is necessary for the
ballot to be received before the close of polls on election day.
3104. Any vote by mail ballot application by a qualified special
absentee voter shall also be deemed an affidavit of voter
registration and an application for permanent vote by mail status.
3106. When the application is received by an elections official,
other than a county elections official, the elections official
receiving it shall, after the election, transmit it to the county
elections official who, if the application is not subject to
rejection, shall file the original. If an application is rejected, it
shall be returned to the applicant with the reason for rejection
endorsed on it, together with a new blank application.
3107. If any special absentee voter is released from service after
the closing date of registration for an election and has returned to
the county of his or her residence and is not a registered voter, he
or she may apply in person to the elections official for permission
to register. If the elector furnishes documentary proof of release
from service after the closing date of registration for the election,
the elections official shall allow him or her to be registered and
to vote in the election. On or before the day of election the
elections official shall deliver to the precinct board a list of
special absentee voters registered under this section.
3108. If any special absentee voter to whom a vote by mail ballot
has been mailed and which ballot has not been voted by him or her
returns to the county in which he or she is registered on or before
election day, he or she may apply for a second vote by mail ballot
pursuant to Section 3014. The elections official shall require him or
her to sign an authorization to cancel the vote by mail ballot
previously issued when it is returned to the county elections
official. The elections official shall then issue another vote by
mail ballot to the voter, or the elections official shall certify to
the precinct board that the voter is eligible to vote in the precinct
polling place of his or her residence.
3109. If any special absentee voter returns to the county of his or
her residence after the final day for making application for a vote
by mail ballot, he or she may appear before the elections official
and make application for registration, vote by mail ballot, or both.
The elections official shall register the voter, if he or she is not
registered, and deliver to him or her a vote by mail ballot which may
be voted in the elections official's office or voted outside the
elections official's office on or before the close of the polls on
the day of election and returned as are other vote by mail ballots.
3110. If a special absentee voter is unable to appear at his or her
polling place because of being recalled to service after the final
day for making application for a vote by mail ballot, but before 5
p.m. on the day before the day of election, he or she may appear
before the elections official in the county in which the special
absentee voter is registered or, if within the state, in the county
in which he or she is recalled to service and make application for a
vote by mail ballot, which may be submitted by facsimile, or by
e-mail or online transmission if the elections official makes the
transmission option available. The elections official shall deliver
to him or her a vote by mail ballot which may be voted in the
elections official's office or voted outside the elections official's
office on or before the close of the polls on the day of election
and returned as are other vote by mail ballots. To be counted, the
ballot must be returned to the elections official's office in person,
by facsimile transmission, or by an authorized person on or before
the close of the polls on the day of the election. If the special
absentee voter appears in the county in which he or she is recalled
to service, rather than the county to which he or she is registered,
the elections official shall coordinate with the elections official
in the county in which the special absentee voter is registered to
provide the absentee ballot that contains the appropriate measures
and races for the precinct in which the special absentee voter is
registered.
3111. Whenever by any statute of the United States, provision is
made for vote by mail, an application for a vote by mail ballot made
under that law may be given the same effect as an application for a
vote by mail ballot made under this code.
If, by any federal statute, provision is made for the transmission
of applications for vote by mail status to the Secretary of State,
he or she shall transmit the applications to the county elections
official of the county in which the applicant claims residence.
3112. If by any act of Congress which is now or may become
effective during the effective period of this section, provision is
made for voting by special absent voter, that act shall control and
be superior to any conflicting provisions of this code, and all
state, county, municipal and district officers who are charged with
the performance of duties with reference to the election laws of this
state shall perform the duties and discharge the obligations placed
upon them by that act of Congress. It is the purpose and intent of
this section that full effect shall be given to ballots cast by
special absentee voters under federal statutes in order that no
person shall be deprived of his or her vote by virtue of having cast
his or her ballot under any federal statute rather than under the
laws of this state.