Amended in Senate May 26, 2016

Amended in Assembly January 14, 2016

Amended in Assembly January 4, 2016

Amended in Assembly April 22, 2015

Amended in Assembly April 7, 2015

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 1494

Introduced by Assembly Member Levine

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(Coauthor: Assembly Member Gallagher)

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(Coauthor: Senator McGuire)

February 27, 2015

An act to amend begin delete Sections end delete begin insert Section end insert 14291 begin delete , 18403, 18564, and 18564.5 end delete of, and to repeal Section 14276 of, the Elections Code, relating to voting.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 1494, as amended, Levine. Voting: marked begin delete ballots: distributing and sharing photographs and digital images. end delete begin insert ballots. end insert

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 begin delete 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. end delete begin insert voluntarily disclose how he or she voted or distribute an image of his or her own marked ballot if that end insert begin insert voluntary act does not violate any other law. end insert

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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.

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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.

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Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee:  begin delete yes end delete begin insert no end insert . State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

Section 14276 of the Elections Code is repealed.

SEC. 2.  

Section 14291 of the Elections Code is amended to
read:

14291.  

(a) After the ballot is marked, a voter shall not show
it to any person in such a way as to reveal its contents, except as
provided in subdivision (b).

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(b) A voter may voluntarily disclose how he or she voted or
distribute an image of his or her own marked ballot if that
voluntary act does not violate any other law.

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(b) A voter may take a photograph or digital image of his or her
marked ballot and distribute or share the photograph or digital
image using social media or by any other means. A photograph or
digital image taken and distributed or shared pursuant to this
subdivision shall not be used to coerce or intimidate a voter, impede
a voter’s ability to vote, cause voter delay in a polling place, disrupt
a polling place, or result in a monetary or tangible benefit for any
purpose.

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SEC. 3.  

Section 18403 of the Elections Code is amended to
read:

18403.  

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 punishable by a fine not exceeding ten thousand dollars
($10,000), by imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section
1170 of the Penal Code for 16 months or two or three years, or in
a county jail not exceeding one year, or by both that fine and
imprisonment. This section does not apply to persons returning a
vote by mail ballot pursuant to Sections 3017 and 3021, to persons
assisting a voter pursuant to Section 14282, or to persons
examining or soliciting a voter to show a photograph or digital
image of a ballot that has been distributed or shared pursuant to
subdivision (b) of Section 14291.

SEC. 4.  

Section 18564 of the Elections Code is amended to
read:

18564.  

Any person is guilty of a felony, punishable by
imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170 of the
Penal Code 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, a 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,
except as provided in subdivision (b) of Section 14291, 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.

SEC. 5.  

Section 18564.5 of the Elections Code is amended to
read:

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,
a voting machine, voting device, voting system, vote tabulating
device, or ballot tally software.

(2) Interferes or attempts to interfere with the secrecy of voting,
except as provided in subdivision (b) of Section 14291, 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 a 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.

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