Bill Commons

CA AB 331

in committee

Elections: duties of election officials: voter information guides.

California · 2025-2026 Regular Session · lower

Description

(1) Existing law requires an elections official, upon completion of the count, to add the results of write-in votes and any paper ballots used as certified by the precinct board, and thereupon declare the vote. Existing law requires the elections official to prepare a certified statement of the results of the election and submit it to the governing body within 30 days of the election, as specified. Existing law requires the elections official to send to the Secretary of State within 31 days of the election in an electronic format a complete copy of specified election results, including the vote given for persons for electors of President and Vice President of the United States, all candidates voted for statewide office, and all statewide measures. This bill would specify that the duties described above imposed on elections officials are ministerial and nondiscretionary. Existing law, if the Secretary of State determines that state election laws are not being enforced, requires the Secretary of State to call the violation of those laws to the attention of the district attorney of the county or to the Attorney General. This bill, if an elections official fails to prepare a certified statement of the results of the election, would require the Secretary of State to call the violation to the attention of the district attorney of the county or to the Attorney General and authorize the Secretary of State to assist the county elections official in discharging their duties, consistent with those provisions. (2) Existing law requires a governing body to declare elected or nominated the person having the highest number of votes for each office voted on at an election under its jurisdiction and to declare the results of each measure voted on at an election under its jurisdiction. This bill would specify that these duties are ministerial and nondiscretionary. (3) Existing law requires the Secretary of State to prepare a state voter information guide that includes, among other things, a complete copy of each state measure, the Voter Bill of Rights, and information on candidates for the office of United States Senator and the offices of President and Vice President, as specified. Existing law requires county elections officials to prepare a county voter information guide that contains, among other things, voluntary statements by a candidate for nonpartisan elective office. This bill would require the Secretary of State and county elections officials to prepare voter information guides for county jail facilities in a format that will be accepted by jail facilities. The bill would require county jail officials to work in good faith with the Secretary of State and county elections officials to ensure delivery of state and county voter information guides to their facilities for each primary and general election. By requiring county elections officials to prepare voter information guides for each jail in their jurisdiction, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (4) Existing law makes it a crime to display a container for the purpose of collecting ballots, with the intent to deceive a voter into casting a ballot in an unofficial ballot box. Existing law also makes it a crime to direct or solicit a voter to place a ballot in such a container. Existing law makes these crimes punishable by a fine not to exceed $1,000, by imprisonment for 16 months or two or three years, or by both fine and imprisonment. This bill would also make it a crime to display an envelope for the purpose of collecting ballots, with the intent to deceive a voter into casting a ballot in an unofficial ballot box. The bill would make it a crime to direct or solicit a voter to place a ballot in such an envelope. By expanding the scope of these crimes, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (5) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that with regard to certain mandates no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. With regard to any other mandates, this bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs so mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.

Introduced
2025-04-02
Status date
—
Latest action
2025-08-29 — In committee: Held under submission.
Bill type
bill
Last updated
—

Subjects

Sponsors

  • Pellerinauthor

Committees

Not provided by source.

Action timeline

  1. 2025-01-27

    Read first time. To print.

    reading-1

  2. 2025-01-28

    From printer. May be heard in committee February 27.

  3. 2025-02-18

    Referred to Coms. on ELECTIONS and PUB. S.

    referral-committee

  4. 2025-03-26

    From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on PUB. S. (Ayes 7. Noes 0.) (March 26). Re-referred to Com. on PUB. S.

    committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable,referral-committee

  5. 2025-04-02

    From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Com. on PUB. S. Read second time and amended.

    amendment-introduction,amendment-passage,committee-passage,reading-1,reading-2,referral-committee

  6. 2025-04-03

    Re-referred to Com. on PUB. S.

    referral-committee

  7. 2025-04-21

    From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Com. on PUB. S. Read second time and amended.

    amendment-introduction,amendment-passage,committee-passage,reading-1,reading-2,referral-committee

  8. 2025-04-22

    Re-referred to Com. on PUB. S.

    referral-committee

  9. 2025-04-23

    From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 9. Noes 0.) (April 22). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

    committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable,referral-committee

  10. 2025-05-14

    In committee: Set, first hearing. Referred to suspense file.

    referral-committee

  11. 2025-05-23

    From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 12. Noes 0.) (May 23).

    committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable

  12. 2025-05-27

    Read second time. Ordered to third reading.

    reading-1,reading-2,reading-3

  13. 2025-06-02

    Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Senate. (Ayes 71. Noes 1. Page 1819.)

    passage,reading-1,reading-3

  14. 2025-06-03

    In Senate. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment.

    reading-1,referral-committee

  15. 2025-06-11

    Referred to Coms. on E. & C.A. and PUB. S.

    referral-committee

  16. 2025-07-01

    From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on PUB. S. (Ayes 5. Noes 0.) (July 1). Re-referred to Com. on PUB. S.

    committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable,referral-committee

  17. 2025-07-15

    From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 5. Noes 0.) (July 15). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

    committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable,referral-committee

  18. 2025-08-18

    In committee: Referred to suspense file.

    referral-committee

  19. 2025-08-29

    In committee: Held under submission.

Versions

  • 01/27/25 - Introduced — 2025-01-27Compare
  • 04/02/25 - Amended Assembly — 2025-04-02Compare
  • 04/21/25 - Amended Assembly — 2025-04-21Compare
  • AB331Compare
  • (document, no version)Compare

Documents

Votes

  • Do pass and be re-referred to the Committee on [Public Safety]

    2025-03-26 · pass · 7-0

    Member-level votes (7)
    • Stefani: yes
    • Berman: yes
    • Tangipa: yes
    • Macedo: yes
    • Bennett: yes
    • Pellerin: yes
    • Solache: yes

  • Do pass and be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations]

    2025-04-22 · pass · 9-0

    Member-level votes (9)
    • Harabedian: yes
    • Schultz: yes
    • Haney: yes
    • Mark González: yes
    • Alanis: yes
    • Sharp-Collins: yes
    • Lackey: yes
    • Ramos: yes
    • Nguyen: yes

  • Do pass.

    2025-05-23 · pass · 12-0

    Member-level votes (15)
    • Calderon: yes
    • Elhawary: yes
    • Hart: yes
    • Mark González: yes
    • Arambula: yes
    • Pacheco: yes
    • Solache: yes
    • Caloza: yes
    • Wicks: yes
    • Pellerin: yes
    • Fong: yes
    • Tangipa: yes
    • Ta: other
    • Sanchez: other
    • Dixon: other

  • AB 331 Pellerin Assembly Third Reading

    2025-06-02 · pass · 71-1

    Member-level votes (79)
    • Addis: yes
    • Garcia: yes
    • Lee: yes
    • Rivas: yes
    • Petrie-Norris: yes
    • Bryan: yes
    • Michelle Rodriguez: yes
    • Rogers: yes
    • Gallagher: yes
    • Irwin: yes
    • Wicks: yes
    • Arambula: yes
    • Caloza: yes
    • Ahrens: yes
    • Krell: yes
    • Stefani: yes
    • Harabedian: yes
    • Mark González: yes
    • Calderon: yes
    • Nguyen: yes
    • Patterson: yes
    • Ward: yes
    • Carrillo: yes
    • Blanca Rubio: yes
    • Muratsuchi: yes
    • Patel: yes
    • Solache: yes
    • McKinnor: yes
    • Bonta: yes
    • Lowenthal: yes
    • Papan: yes
    • Jeff Gonzalez: yes
    • Schiavo: yes
    • Gabriel: yes
    • Pacheco: yes
    • Ávila Farías: yes
    • Aguiar-Curry: yes
    • Ransom: yes
    • Connolly: yes
    • Celeste Rodriguez: yes
    • Fong: yes
    • Quirk-Silva: yes
    • Ramos: yes
    • Soria: yes
    • Tangipa: yes
    • Pellerin: yes
    • Elhawary: yes
    • Davies: yes
    • Kalra: yes
    • Wallis: yes
    • Alanis: yes
    • Haney: yes
    • Gipson: yes
    • Macedo: yes
    • Hart: yes
    • Boerner: yes
    • Alvarez: yes
    • Bauer-Kahan: yes
    • Schultz: yes
    • Sharp-Collins: yes
    • Berman: yes
    • Jackson: yes
    • Wilson: yes
    • Hoover: yes
    • Lackey: yes
    • Zbur: yes
    • Flora: yes
    • Bennett: yes
    • Ortega: yes
    • Bains: yes
    • Valencia: yes
    • DeMaio: no
    • Chen: other
    • Ta: other
    • Ellis: other
    • Hadwick: other
    • Castillo: other
    • Dixon: other
    • Sanchez: other

  • Do pass, but first be re-referred to the Committee on [Public Safety]

    2025-07-01 · pass · 5-0

    Member-level votes (5)
    • Allen: yes
    • Umberg: yes
    • Cervantes: yes
    • Limón: yes
    • Choi: yes

  • Do pass, but first be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations]

    2025-07-15 · pass · 5-0

    Member-level votes (6)
    • Pérez: yes
    • Wiener: yes
    • Gonzalez: yes
    • Arreguín: yes
    • Caballero: yes
    • Seyarto: other

  • Placed on suspense file

    2025-08-18 · pass · 7-0

    Member-level votes (7)
    • Richardson: yes
    • Seyarto: yes
    • Caballero: yes
    • Cabaldon: yes
    • Dahle: yes
    • Wahab: yes
    • Grayson: yes

Related bills

No related bills recorded for this bill.

Official source

http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260AB331

Attribution

Data from openstates_bulk_csv, retrieved 2026-07-24T01:34:27.960412Z

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