Bill Commons

CA SB 1431

enacted

Elections.

California · 2025-2026 Regular Session · upper

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Quick answers

Did CA SB 1431 pass?

Yes. CA SB 1431 has been enacted into law. Latest recorded action (2026-08-27): Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 161, Statutes of 2026.

What is CA SB 1431 about?

(1) Existing law requires an elections official to mail a ballot and ballot identification envelope to each active registered voter, including military and overseas voters, at specified times before an election. Existing law does not require a registered voter to request a vote by mail ballot to receive the ballot in this manner. This bill would make conforming changes to require an elections official to send the ballot and related materials to each active registered military and overseas voter regardless of whether they apply for a vote by mail ballot. (2) Existing law requires candidates for certain federal, state, and local offices to submit nomination papers to the county elections official with a specified number of signatures to appear on the ballot for the primary election. Under existing law, the number of signatures submitted must fall within a specified range, depending upon the office sought by the candidate or the number of voters in the state, county, or district where the election is to be held. If more than the maximum number of signatures is submitted, existing law permits the elections official to withdraw the excess number, as specified. This bill would instead require the candidate to submit only a minimum number of signatures, as specified. The bill would repeal the provision permitting the elections official to withdraw an excess number of signatures. The bill would also permit the candidate to continuously submit signatures until the county elections official verifies that the requisite number of signatures has been submitted. By establishing new procedures for local elections officials, this bill would create a state-mandated local program. 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, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.

Who sponsors CA SB 1431?

Committee on Elections and Constitutional Amendments is the primary sponsor of CA SB 1431.

Description

(1) Existing law requires an elections official to mail a ballot and ballot identification envelope to each active registered voter, including military and overseas voters, at specified times before an election. Existing law does not require a registered voter to request a vote by mail ballot to receive the ballot in this manner. This bill would make conforming changes to require an elections official to send the ballot and related materials to each active registered military and overseas voter regardless of whether they apply for a vote by mail ballot. (2) Existing law requires candidates for certain federal, state, and local offices to submit nomination papers to the county elections official with a specified number of signatures to appear on the ballot for the primary election. Under existing law, the number of signatures submitted must fall within a specified range, depending upon the office sought by the candidate or the number of voters in the state, county, or district where the election is to be held. If more than the maximum number of signatures is submitted, existing law permits the elections official to withdraw the excess number, as specified. This bill would instead require the candidate to submit only a minimum number of signatures, as specified. The bill would repeal the provision permitting the elections official to withdraw an excess number of signatures. The bill would also permit the candidate to continuously submit signatures until the county elections official verifies that the requisite number of signatures has been submitted. By establishing new procedures for local elections officials, this bill would create a state-mandated local program. 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, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.

Introduced
2026-03-05
Latest action
2026-08-27 — Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 161, Statutes of 2026.
Bill type
bill
Last updated
—

Subjects

Sponsors

  • Committee on Elections and Constitutional Amendmentsauthor

Committees

Not provided by source.

Action timeline

Newest first

  1. 2026-08-27

    Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 161, Statutes of 2026.

    became-law

  2. 2026-08-27

    Approved by the Governor.

    executive-signature

  3. 2026-08-18

    Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 3 p.m.

    executive-receipt

  4. 2026-08-13

    In Senate. Ordered to engrossing and enrolling.

    committee-passage

  5. 2026-08-13

    Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Senate.

    passage,reading-1,reading-3

  6. 2026-08-13

    Read third time. Passed. (Ayes 72. Noes 0. Page 6159.) Ordered to the Senate.

    passage,reading-1,reading-3

  7. 2026-08-06

    Read second time. Ordered to consent calendar.

    reading-1,reading-2

  8. 2026-08-05

    From committee: Do pass. Ordered to consent calendar. (Ayes 15. Noes 0.) (August 5).

    committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable

  9. 2026-06-17

    From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. with recommendation: To consent calendar. (Ayes 7. Noes 0.) (June 17). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

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

  10. 2026-05-18

    Referred to Com. on ELECTIONS.

    referral-committee

  11. 2026-05-07

    In Assembly. Read first time. Held at Desk.

    reading-1

  12. 2026-05-07

    Read third time. Passed. (Ayes 36. Noes 0. Page 4168.) Ordered to the Assembly.

    passage,reading-1,reading-3

  13. 2026-05-05

    Read second time. Ordered to consent calendar.

    reading-1,reading-2

  14. 2026-05-04

    From committee: Be ordered to second reading pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8 and ordered to consent calendar.

    committee-passage,reading-1,reading-2

  15. 2026-04-24

    Set for hearing May 4.

  16. 2026-04-21

    From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. with recommendation: To consent calendar. (Ayes 5. Noes 0. Page 3972.) (April 21). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

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

  17. 2026-04-09

    Set for hearing April 21.

  18. 2026-03-18

    Referred to Com. on E. & C.A.

    referral-committee

  19. 2026-03-06

    From printer. May be acted upon on or after April 5.

  20. 2026-03-05

    Introduced. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment. To print.

    introduction,reading-1,referral-committee

Versions

Documents

Votes

  • Do pass, but first be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations] with the recommendation: To Consent Calendar

    2026-04-21 · pass · 5-0

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

  • Consent Calendar 2nd SB1431 E. & C.A.

    2026-05-07 · pass · 36-0

    Member-level votes (40)
    • Strickland: yes
    • Pérez: yes
    • Laird: yes
    • Menjivar: yes
    • Hurtado: yes
    • Arreguín: yes
    • McGuire: yes
    • Padilla: yes
    • Seyarto: yes
    • Cabaldon: yes
    • Durazo: yes
    • Rubio: yes
    • Becker: yes
    • Ashby: yes
    • Weber Pierson: yes
    • Dahle: yes
    • Archuleta: yes
    • Richardson: yes
    • Choi: yes
    • Cortese: yes
    • Wahab: yes
    • Valladares: yes
    • Limón: yes
    • Umberg: yes
    • Allen: yes
    • Caballero: yes
    • Blakespear: yes
    • McNerney: yes
    • Ochoa Bogh: yes
    • Stern: yes
    • Smallwood-Cuevas: yes
    • Cervantes: yes
    • Reyes: yes
    • Jones: yes
    • Wiener: yes
    • Grayson: yes
    • Grove: other
    • Gonzalez: other
    • Alvarado-Gil: other
    • Niello: other

  • Do pass and be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations] with recommendation: To Consent Calendar

    2026-06-17 · pass · 7-0

    Member-level votes (7)
    • Stefani: yes
    • Bennett: yes
    • Elhawary: yes
    • Solache: yes
    • Pellerin: yes
    • Lackey: yes
    • Berman: yes

Related bills

No related bills recorded for this bill.

Official source

http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260SB1431

Attribution

Data from openstates_api_sync, retrieved 2026-09-05T05:26:08.904675Z

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