AB 1494, as amended, Levine. Voting: marked ballots: distributing and sharing photographs and digital images.
Existing law prohibits a voter from showing his or her ballot after it is marked in such a way as to reveal its contents. Existing law provides that a person who interferes or attempts to interfere with the secrecy of voting is guilty of a felony, and authorizes the Secretary of State, the Attorney General, or a local elections official to bring an action to impose additional civil penalties for committing those acts.
This bill would authorize a voter to take a photograph or digital image of his or her marked ballot and distribute or share that photograph or digital image using social media or by any other means, unless the voter does so for certain prohibited purposes. The bill would exempt these authorized acts from the criminal and civil penalties described above. The bill would also repeal a duplicative provision.
Under existing law, any person other than an elections official or a member of the precinct board who receives a voted ballot from a voter or who examines or solicits the voter to show his or her voted ballot is guilty of an offense punishable by a fine, imprisonment, or by both fine and imprisonment. Existing law exempts from this crime a person returning a vote by mail ballot or persons assisting a voter.
The bill would also exempt from that crime a person examining or soliciting a voter to show a photograph or digital image of his or her marked ballot that has been distributed or shared using social media or by other means.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
Section 14276 of the Elections Code is repealed.
Section 14291 of the Elections Code is amended to
3read:
(a) After the ballot is marked, a voter shall not show
5it to any person in such a way as to reveal its contents, except as
6provided in subdivision (b).
7(b) A voter may take a photograph or digital image of his or her
8marked ballot and distribute or share the photograph or digital
9image using social media or by any other means. A photograph or
10digital image taken and distributed or shared pursuant to this
11subdivision shall not be used to coerce or intimidate a voter, impede
12a voter’s ability to vote, cause voter delay in a polling place, disrupt
13a polling place, or result in a monetary or tangible benefit for any
14
purpose.
Section 18403 of the Elections Code is amended to
16read:
Any person other than an elections official or a member
18of the precinct board who receives a voted ballot from a voter or
19who examines or solicits the voter to show his or her voted ballot
20is punishable by a fine not exceeding ten thousand dollars
21($10,000), by imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section
221170 of the Penal Code for 16 months or two or three years, or in
23a county jail not exceeding one year, or by both that fine and
24imprisonment. This section does not apply to persons returning a
25vote by mail ballot pursuant to Sections 3017 and 3021, to persons
P3 1assisting a voter pursuant to Section 14282, or to persons
2examining or soliciting a voter to show a photograph or digital
3image of a ballot that has been distributed or shared pursuant to
4
subdivision (b) of Section 14291.
Section 18564 of the Elections Code is amended to
6read:
Any person is guilty of a felony, punishable by
8imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170 of the
9Penal Code for two, three, or four years who, before or during an
10election:
11(a) Tampers with, interferes with, or attempts to interfere with,
12the correct operation of, or willfully damages in order to prevent
13the use of,begin delete anyend deletebegin insert aend insert voting machine, voting device, voting system,
14vote tabulating device, or ballot tally software program source
15codes.
16(b) Interferes or
attempts to interfere with the secrecy of voting,
17except as provided in subdivision (b) of Section 14291, or ballot
18tally software program source codes.
19(c) Knowingly, and without authorization, makes or has in his
20or her possession a key to a voting machine that has been adopted
21and will be used in elections in this state.
22(d) Willfully substitutes or attempts to substitute forged or
23counterfeit ballot tally software program source codes.
Section 18564.5 of the Elections Code is amended to
25read:
(a) The Secretary of State, Attorney General, and
27any local elections official in the county in which the act occurs,
28may bring a civil action against an individual, business, or other
29legal entity that commits any of the following acts before, during,
30or after an election:
31(1) Tampers, interferes, or attempts to interfere with the correct
32operation of, or willfully damages in order to prevent the use of,
33begin delete anyend deletebegin insert aend insert voting machine, voting device, voting system, vote tabulating
34device,
or ballot tally software.
35(2) Interferes or attempts to interfere with the secrecy of voting,
36except as provided in subdivision (b) of Section 14291, or interferes
37or attempts to interfere with ballot tally software program source
38codes.
39(3) Knowingly, and without authorization, gains access to or
40provides another person or persons with access to a voting machine
P4 1for the purpose of committing one of the acts specified by this
2section.
3(4) Willfully substitutes or attempts to substitute forged,
4counterfeit, or malicious ballot tally software program source
5codes.
6(5) Knowingly, and without authorization, inserts or causes the
7insertion of uncertified
hardware, software, or firmware, for
8whatever purpose, intobegin delete anyend deletebegin insert aend insert voting machine, voting device, voting
9system, vote tabulating device, or ballot tally software.
10(6) Fails to notify the Secretary of State prior to any change in
11hardware, software, or firmware to a voting machine, voting device,
12voting system, or vote tabulating device, certified or conditionally
13certified for use in this state.
14(b) A civil action may be brought pursuant to this section for a
15civil penalty not to exceed fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) for
16each act and for injunctive relief, if appropriate.
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