California Elections Code CHAPTER 4 - Definitions

• Section 300.
  (a) “Vote by mail voter” means any voter casting a ballot in any way other than at the polling place.(b) “Military or overseas voter” means an elector...
• Section 300.5.
  “Affiliated with a political party” as used in reference to a voter or to a candidate for a voter-nominated office means the party preference that...
• Section 301.
  A “ballot” means any of the following:(a) The combination of a card with number positions that is marked by the voter and the accompanying reference page...
• Section 302.
  “Ballot card” means a card or a number of cards upon which are printed, or identified by reference to the ballot, the names of candidates...
• Section 303.
  “Ballot label” means that portion of the ballot containing the names of the candidates or a statement of a measure. For statewide measures, the ballot...
• Section 303.3.
  “Remote accessible vote by mail system” means a mechanical, electromechanical, or electronic system and its software that is used for the sole purpose of marking...
• Section 303.4.
  “Ballot on demand system” means a self-contained system that allows users to do both of the following on an as-needed basis:(a) Manufacture and finish card stock.(b) Finish...
• Section 303.5.
  (a) “Ballot title” is the name of a statewide measure included in the ballot label and the ballot title and summary.(b) “Ballot title and summary” means the...
• Section 304.
  “Campaign advertising or communication” means a communication authorized by a candidate or a candidate’s controlled committee, as defined in Section 82016 of the Government Code,...
• Section 305.
  (a)“Candidate,” for purposes of Section 2184, includes any person who declares in writing, under penalty of perjury that he or she is a candidate, naming...
• Section 305.5.
  “Paper cast vote record” means an auditable document that corresponds to the selection made on the voter’s ballot and lists the contests on the ballot...
• Section 306.
  “City measure” includes any proposed city charter, any proposed amendment to a city charter, any proposition for the issuance of bonds by the city, any...
• Section 307.
  “Clerk” means the county elections official, registrar of voters, city clerk, or other officer or board charged with the duty of conducting any election.(Amended by...
• Section 308.
  “District elections official,” for the purposes of initiative and referendum under Article 1 (commencing with Section 9300) of Chapter 4 of Division 9, includes the...
• Section 309.
  “Committee,” as used in Article 1 (commencing with Section 20200) of Chapter 3 of Division 20, means any person or combination of persons who, directly...
• Section 310.
  “County” and “city” both include “city and county.”(Enacted by Stats. 1994, Ch. 920, Sec. 2.)
• Section 312.
  “County measure” includes any proposed county charter, any proposed amendment to a county charter, any proposition for the issuance of funding or refunding bonds of...
• Section 313.
  “County office” means the office filled by any county officer.(Enacted by Stats. 1994, Ch. 920, Sec. 2.)
• Section 314.
  “County officer” means any elected officer enumerated in Division 2 (commencing with Section 24000) of Title 3 of the Government Code.(Enacted by Stats. 1994, Ch....
• Section 316.
  (a) “Direct primary” is the primary election held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in June in each even-numbered year, to nominate candidates to...
• Section 316.a.
  (a) “Direct primary” is the primary election held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in March in each even-numbered year.(b) This section shall become operative...
• Section 317.
  “District,” for purposes of initiative and referendum under Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 9300) of Division 9, includes any regional agency that has the power...
• Section 318.
  “Election” means any election including a primary that is provided for under this code.(Enacted by Stats. 1994, Ch. 920, Sec. 2.)
• Section 319.
  “Election board” means the board of supervisors of each county, the city council or other governing body of a city, or any board or officer...
• Section 319.5.
  “Electioneering” means the visible display or audible dissemination of information that advocates for or against any candidate or measure on the ballot within 100 feet...
• Section 320.
  “Elections official” means any of the following:(a) A clerk or any person who is charged with the duty of conducting an election.(b) A county clerk, city clerk,...
• Section 321.
  (a) “Elector” means any person who is a United States citizen 18 years of age or older and, except as specified in subdivision (b), is a...
• Section 322.
  “Electoral jurisdiction,” as used in Division 11 (commencing with Section 11000), means the area within which the voters reside who are qualified to vote for...
• Section 323.
  “Federal election” means any presidential election, general election, primary election, or special election held solely or in part for the purpose of selecting, nominating, or...
• Section 324.
  (a) “General election” means either of the following:(1) The election held throughout the state on the first Tuesday after the first Monday of November in each even-numbered...
• Section 325.
  “Inspector” means the supervisor of the precinct board of which he or she is a member.(Added by Stats. 2017, Ch. 806, Sec. 2. (SB 286)...
• Section 326.
  “Judicial office” means the office filled by any judicial officer.(Enacted by Stats. 1994, Ch. 920, Sec. 2.)
• Section 327.
  “Judicial officer” means any Justice of the Supreme Court, justice of a court of appeal, or judge of the superior court.(Amended by Stats. 2002, Ch....
• Section 328.
  “Local election” is a municipal, county, or district election.(Enacted by Stats. 1994, Ch. 920, Sec. 2.)
• Section 329.
  “Measure” means any constitutional amendment or other proposition submitted to a popular vote at any election.(Enacted by Stats. 1994, Ch. 920, Sec. 2.)
• Section 330.
  “Municipal election” means elections in general law cities and where applicable in chartered cities.(Enacted by Stats. 1994, Ch. 920, Sec. 2.)
• Section 331.
  “New citizen” means any person who meets all requirements of an elector of, and has established residency in, the state, except that he or she...
• Section 332.
  “New resident” means a person who meets all requirements of an elector of the State of California except that his or her residency was established...
• Section 332.5.
  “Nominate” means the selection, at a state-conducted primary election, of candidates who are entitled by law to participate in the general election for that office,...
• Section 333.
  “Nomination documents” means declaration of candidacy and nomination papers.(Added by renumbering Section 6489 by Stats. 1996, Ch. 1143, Sec. 43. Effective September 30, 1996.)
• Section 334.
  “Nonpartisan office” means an office, except for a voter-nominated office, for which no party may nominate a candidate. Judicial, school, county, and municipal offices, including...
• Section 335.
  “Oath” includes affirmation.(Enacted by Stats. 1994, Ch. 920, Sec. 2.)
• Section 335.5.
  The “official canvass” is the public process of processing and tallying all ballots received in an election, including, but not limited to, provisional ballots and...
• Section 336.
  The “official summary date” is the date a circulating title and summary of a proposed initiative measure is delivered or mailed by the Attorney General...
• Section 336.5.
  (a) “One percent manual tally” is the public process of manually tallying votes in 1 percent of the precincts, selected at random by the elections official,...
• Section 336.7.
  “Out-of-state emergency worker” means a voter who is officially engaged in responding to the proclamation of an out-of-state emergency and whose vocation has been identified...
• Section 337.
  “Partisan office” or “party-nominated office” means any of the following offices:(a) President of the United States, Vice President of the United States, and the delegates therefor.(b) Elected...
• Section 338.
  “Party” means a political party or organization that has qualified for participation in any primary or presidential general election.(Amended by Stats. 2013, Ch. 511, Sec....
• Section 338.5.
  “Polling place” means a location where a voter casts a ballot and includes the following terms, as applicable: poll, polling location, and vote center. A...
• Section 338.6.
  “Precinct” means a geographical area within a county that is made up of voters and is formed pursuant to Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 12200)...
• Section 339.
  (a) “Precinct board” is the board appointed by the elections official to serve at a single precinct or a consolidated precinct. In an election conducted using...
• Section 340.
  (a) “Presidential primary” is the primary election that is held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in June in any year that is evenly...
• Section 340.a.
  (a) “Presidential primary” is the primary election that is held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in March of any year that is evenly...
• Section 341.
  “Primary election” includes all primary nominating elections provided for by this code.(Enacted by Stats. 1994, Ch. 920, Sec. 2.)
• Section 342.
  “Proponent or proponents of an initiative or referendum measure” means, for statewide initiative and referendum measures, the elector or electors who submit the text of...
• Section 343.
  “Proponent or proponents of a recall petition” means the person or persons who have charge or control of the circulation of, or obtaining signatures, to...
• Section 344.
  “Punchcard” means a tabulating card on which the voter may record his or her vote by punching, marking, or slotting.(Enacted by Stats. 1994, Ch. 920,...
• Section 345.
  “Punching” includes marking a ballot card to record a vote.(Enacted by Stats. 1994, Ch. 920, Sec. 2.)
• Section 346.
  “Rebuttable presumption” shall be deemed a presumption which affects the burden of producing evidence.(Enacted by Stats. 1994, Ch. 920, Sec. 2.)
• Section 348.
  “Regular election” is an election, the specific time for the holding of which is prescribed by law.(Enacted by Stats. 1994, Ch. 920, Sec. 2.)
• Section 349.
  (a) “Residence” for voting purposes means a person’s domicile.(b) The domicile of a person is that place in which his or her habitation is fixed, wherein the...
• Section 349.5.
  “Roster” means the official list of voters for an election, which may be in paper or electronic form. The roster becomes the official list of...
• Section 350.
  “School measure” means any proposition, including but not limited to, a proposal for the issuance of bonds by a school district or community college district,...
• Section 351.
  “School office” means the office filled by any school officer.(Enacted by Stats. 1994, Ch. 920, Sec. 2.)
• Section 352.
  “School officer” means the Superintendent of Public Instruction and the superintendent of schools of a county.(Enacted by Stats. 1994, Ch. 920, Sec. 2.)
• Section 353.
  “Section” means a section of this code unless some other statute is specifically mentioned.(Enacted by Stats. 1994, Ch. 920, Sec. 2.)
• Section 353.5.
  The “semifinal official canvass” is the public process of collecting, processing, and tallying ballots and, for state or statewide elections, reporting results to the Secretary...
• Section 354.
  “Shall” is mandatory and “may” is permissive.(Enacted by Stats. 1994, Ch. 920, Sec. 2.)
• Section 354.5.
  (a) “Signature” includes either of the following:(1) A person’s mark if the name of the person affixing the mark is written near the mark by a witness...
• Section 355.
  “Software” includes all programs, voting devices, cards, ballot cards or papers, operating manuals or instructions, test procedures, printouts, and other nonmechanical or nonelectrical items necessary...
• Section 356.
  “Special election” is an election, the specific time for the holding of which is not prescribed by law.(Enacted by Stats. 1994, Ch. 920, Sec. 2.)
• Section 356.5.
  “Spouse” includes “registered domestic partner,” as required by Section 297.5 of the Family Code.(Added by Stats. 2016, Ch. 50, Sec. 31. (SB 1005) Effective January...
• Section 357.
  “Statewide election” is an election held throughout the state.(Enacted by Stats. 1994, Ch. 920, Sec. 2.)
• Section 357.5.
  “Vote center” means a location established for holding elections that offers the services described in Sections 2170, 4005, and 4007.(Added by Stats. 2017, Ch. 806,...
• Section 358.
  “Vote tabulating device” means any piece of equipment, other than a voting machine, that compiles a total of votes cast by means of ballot card...
• Section 359.
  “Voter” means any elector who is registered under this code.(Enacted by Stats. 1994, Ch. 920, Sec. 2.)
• Section 359.2.
  “Voter list” means the list of registered voters in a single or consolidated precinct or in an entire county. The voter list may be in...
• Section 359.5.
  (a)  “Voter-nominated office” means a congressional or state elective office for which a candidate may choose to have his or her party preference or lack...
• Section 360.
  “Voting device” means any device used in conjunction with a ballot card or cards to indicate the choice of the voter by marking, punching, or...
• Section 361.
  “Voting machine” means any electronic device, including, but not limited to, a precinct optical scanner and a direct recording voting system, into which a voter...
• Section 362.
  “Voting system” means a mechanical, electromechanical, or electronic system and its software, or any combination of these used for casting a ballot, tabulating votes, or...

Last modified: October 22, 2018