CA SB 3
enactedElections: signature verification and results.
California · 2025-2026 Regular Session · upper
Quick answers
Did CA SB 3 pass?
Yes. CA SB 3 has been enacted into law as of 2025-10-03. Latest recorded action (2025-10-03): Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 307, Statutes of 2025.
What is CA SB 3 about?
Existing law requires an elections official, upon receiving a vote by mail ballot, to compare the signature on the identification envelope with either the signature appearing on the voter's affidavit or other signature appearing on a form that is part of the voter's registration record. Existing law prohibits an elections official from reviewing or considering a voter's party preference, race, or ethnicity when comparing signatures. Existing law requires an elections official, if it is determined that the signatures do not compare, to notify the voter of the opportunity to verify the voter's signature, as specified. Existing law prohibits an elections official from rejecting a vote by mail ballot with signatures that do not compare if the voter delivers a signature verification statement and the signature on the verification statement compares with the signature on file in the voter's record. Existing law prohibits an elections official from rejecting a vote by mail ballot with an unsigned identification envelope if, no later than 5 p.m. two days prior to the election, the voter signs the envelope at the office of the elections official or completes and submits an unsigned identification envelope statement, as specified. This bill would additionally prohibit an elections official, when comparing signatures, from considering a voter's identifying information, including gender, name, and address, and the amount of time spent reviewing a signature. The bill would require an elections official to notify the voter when the signatures do not compare after a specified determination is made that the signatures differ. The bill would authorize a voter to work with a nongovernmental entity to complete a signature verification statement and unsigned envelope statement. The bill would require a signature verification statement and unsigned envelope statement to contain a statement that the county elections official is required to compare the voter's signature with the signatures appearing in the voter's registration record, which may include the signature appearing on the voter's driver's license or state identification card. The bill would require the Secretary of State to publish on their internet website a single, combined vote by mail ballot signature verification statement and unsigned ballot identification envelope statement. The bill would require an elections official to accept a form for a signature verification statement or unsigned ballot identification envelope statement if the form was developed by the Secretary of State or an elections official, but would prohibit an elections official from accepting a form created by any other individual, organization, or entity. Existing law permits a member of the county grand jury, and at least one member each of the Republican county central committee, the Democratic county central committee, and of any other party with a candidate on the ballot, and any other interested organization, to observe and challenge the manner in which vote by mail ballots are handled. Existing law requires these individuals be allowed sufficiently close access to enable them to observe the vote by mail ballot return envelopes and the signatures thereon and challenge whether established procedures are being followed for, among other things, verifying signatures on the vote by mail return envelopes. This bill would additionally allow vote by mail observers to observe and challenge the manner in which those individuals handling vote by mail ballots are following procedures for verifying signatures on signature verification statements and unsigned envelope statements. Existing law requires elections officials, beginning no later than the Thursday following an election, to post updated information regarding an election on their internet website at least once per week until publication of the certified statement of results or until the only ballots left to count are vote by mail ballots for which a voter has the opportunity either to verify or provide their signature. Existing law requires the information at a minimum include updated results for any candidate for office or measure appearing on the ballot, the number of ballots processed and an estimated number of outstanding unprocessed ballots, according to specified categories, and the date and time when it is expected that the next results will be posted. This bill would instead require an elections official, beginning no later than the Thursday following an election, to post updated information regarding the election on their internet website at least two times by the following Thursday and at least twice a week thereafter until publication of the certified statement of results or until the only ballots left to count are vote by mail ballots for which a voter has the opportunity either to verify or provide their signature. The bill would revise the categories for reporting the number of ballots processed and estimated number of outstanding ballots remaining unprocessed. The bill would require the date and time when it is expected that the next results will be posted to be on the homepage of an elections official's internet website or on the stand-alone webpage for the specific election on an elections official's internet website. The bill would specify that posting a hyperlink to a separate file does not satisfy the requirements of these provisions. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 3019 of the Elections Code proposed by AB 827 to be operative only if this bill and AB 827 are enacted and this bill is enacted last. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 15104 of the Elections Code proposed by AB 16 to be operative only if this bill and AB 16 are enacted and this bill is enacted last. By imposing new duties on local elections officials, this bill would impose 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 3?
Cervantes is the primary sponsor of CA SB 3, joined by 1 cosponsor.
Description
Existing law requires an elections official, upon receiving a vote by mail ballot, to compare the signature on the identification envelope with either the signature appearing on the voter's affidavit or other signature appearing on a form that is part of the voter's registration record. Existing law prohibits an elections official from reviewing or considering a voter's party preference, race, or ethnicity when comparing signatures. Existing law requires an elections official, if it is determined that the signatures do not compare, to notify the voter of the opportunity to verify the voter's signature, as specified. Existing law prohibits an elections official from rejecting a vote by mail ballot with signatures that do not compare if the voter delivers a signature verification statement and the signature on the verification statement compares with the signature on file in the voter's record. Existing law prohibits an elections official from rejecting a vote by mail ballot with an unsigned identification envelope if, no later than 5 p.m. two days prior to the election, the voter signs the envelope at the office of the elections official or completes and submits an unsigned identification envelope statement, as specified. This bill would additionally prohibit an elections official, when comparing signatures, from considering a voter's identifying information, including gender, name, and address, and the amount of time spent reviewing a signature. The bill would require an elections official to notify the voter when the signatures do not compare after a specified determination is made that the signatures differ. The bill would authorize a voter to work with a nongovernmental entity to complete a signature verification statement and unsigned envelope statement. The bill would require a signature verification statement and unsigned envelope statement to contain a statement that the county elections official is required to compare the voter's signature with the signatures appearing in the voter's registration record, which may include the signature appearing on the voter's driver's license or state identification card. The bill would require the Secretary of State to publish on their internet website a single, combined vote by mail ballot signature verification statement and unsigned ballot identification envelope statement. The bill would require an elections official to accept a form for a signature verification statement or unsigned ballot identification envelope statement if the form was developed by the Secretary of State or an elections official, but would prohibit an elections official from accepting a form created by any other individual, organization, or entity. Existing law permits a member of the county grand jury, and at least one member each of the Republican county central committee, the Democratic county central committee, and of any other party with a candidate on the ballot, and any other interested organization, to observe and challenge the manner in which vote by mail ballots are handled. Existing law requires these individuals be allowed sufficiently close access to enable them to observe the vote by mail ballot return envelopes and the signatures thereon and challenge whether established procedures are being followed for, among other things, verifying signatures on the vote by mail return envelopes. This bill would additionally allow vote by mail observers to observe and challenge the manner in which those individuals handling vote by mail ballots are following procedures for verifying signatures on signature verification statements and unsigned envelope statements. Existing law requires elections officials, beginning no later than the Thursday following an election, to post updated information regarding an election on their internet website at least once per week until publication of the certified statement of results or until the only ballots left to count are vote by mail ballots for which a voter has the opportunity either to verify or provide their signature. Existing law requires the information at a minimum include updated results for any candidate for office or measure appearing on the ballot, the number of ballots processed and an estimated number of outstanding unprocessed ballots, according to specified categories, and the date and time when it is expected that the next results will be posted. This bill would instead require an elections official, beginning no later than the Thursday following an election, to post updated information regarding the election on their internet website at least two times by the following Thursday and at least twice a week thereafter until publication of the certified statement of results or until the only ballots left to count are vote by mail ballots for which a voter has the opportunity either to verify or provide their signature. The bill would revise the categories for reporting the number of ballots processed and estimated number of outstanding ballots remaining unprocessed. The bill would require the date and time when it is expected that the next results will be posted to be on the homepage of an elections official's internet website or on the stand-alone webpage for the specific election on an elections official's internet website. The bill would specify that posting a hyperlink to a separate file does not satisfy the requirements of these provisions. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 3019 of the Elections Code proposed by AB 827 to be operative only if this bill and AB 827 are enacted and this bill is enacted last. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 15104 of the Elections Code proposed by AB 16 to be operative only if this bill and AB 16 are enacted and this bill is enacted last. By imposing new duties on local elections officials, this bill would impose 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
- 2024-12-02
- Latest action
- 2025-10-03 — Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 307, Statutes of 2025.
- Bill type
- bill
- Last updated
- 2026-07-09T05:05:52.719981Z
Subjects
Sponsors
- Cervantesauthor
- Bermanprincipal coauthor
Committees
Not provided by source.
Action timeline
2024-12-02
Introduced. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment. To print.
introduction,reading-1,referral-committee
2024-12-03
From printer. May be acted upon on or after January 2.
2025-01-29
Referred to Com. on RLS.
referral-committee
2025-03-03
From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on RLS.
amendment-passage,committee-passage,reading-1,reading-2,referral-committee
2025-03-12
Re-referred to Com. on E. & C.A.
referral-committee
2025-03-13
From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on E. & C.A.
amendment-passage,committee-passage,reading-1,reading-2,referral-committee
2025-04-04
Set for hearing April 29.
2025-04-21
From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on E. & C.A.
amendment-passage,committee-passage,reading-1,reading-2,referral-committee
2025-04-29
From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 5. Noes 0. Page 933.) (April 29). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable,referral-committee
2025-05-02
Set for hearing May 12.
2025-05-06
From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
amendment-passage,committee-passage,reading-1,reading-2,referral-committee
2025-05-12
May 12 hearing: Placed on APPR. suspense file.
2025-05-16
Set for hearing May 23.
2025-05-23
Read second time and amended. Ordered to second reading.
amendment-passage,reading-1,reading-2
2025-05-23
From committee: Do pass as amended. (Ayes 6. Noes 0. Page 1186.) (May 23).
amendment-passage,committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable
2025-05-27
Read second time. Ordered to third reading.
reading-1,reading-2,reading-3
2025-06-02
Ordered to special consent calendar.
2025-06-04
Read third time. Passed. (Ayes 39. Noes 0. Page 1521.) Ordered to the Assembly.
passage,reading-1,reading-3
2025-06-05
In Assembly. Read first time. Held at Desk.
reading-1
2025-06-16
Referred to Com. on ELECTIONS.
referral-committee
2025-07-16
From committee: Do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 7. Noes 0.) (July 16).
amendment-passage,committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable,referral-committee
2025-07-17
Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
amendment-passage,reading-1,reading-2,referral-committee
2025-08-20
August 20 set for first hearing. Placed on APPR. suspense file.
2025-08-29
From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 15. Noes 0.) (August 29).
committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable
2025-09-02
Read second time. Ordered to third reading.
reading-1,reading-2,reading-3
2025-09-04
Read third time and amended.
amendment-passage,reading-1,reading-3
2025-09-04
Ordered to third reading.
reading-1,reading-3
2025-09-08
Read third time. Passed. (Ayes 79. Noes 0. Page 2988.) Ordered to the Senate.
passage,reading-1,reading-3
2025-09-08
In Senate. Concurrence in Assembly amendments pending.
2025-09-10
Assembly amendments concurred in. (Ayes 40. Noes 0. Page 2825.) Ordered to engrossing and enrolling.
amendment-passage,committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable
2025-09-17
Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 2 p.m.
executive-receipt
2025-10-03
Approved by the Governor.
executive-signature
2025-10-03
Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 307, Statutes of 2025.
became-law
Versions
- 12/02/24 - Introduced — 2024-12-02Compare
- 03/03/25 - Amended Senate — 2025-03-03Compare
- 03/13/25 - Amended Senate — 2025-03-13Compare
- 04/21/25 - Amended Senate — 2025-04-21Compare
- 05/06/25 - Amended Senate — 2025-05-06Compare
- 05/23/25 - Amended Senate — 2025-05-23Compare
- 07/17/25 - Amended Assembly — 2025-07-17Compare
- 09/04/25 - Amended Assembly — 2025-09-04Compare
- 09/12/25 - Enrolled — 2025-09-12Compare
- 10/03/25 - Chaptered — 2025-10-03Compare
- SB3Compare
- (document, no version)Compare
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Votes
Do pass, but first be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations]
2025-04-29 · pass · 5-0
Member-level votes (5)
- Allen: yes
- Choi: yes
- Umberg: yes
- Limón: yes
- Cervantes: yes
Placed on suspense file
2025-05-12 · pass · 7-0
Member-level votes (7)
- Wahab: yes
- Seyarto: yes
- Grayson: yes
- Richardson: yes
- Cabaldon: yes
- Dahle: yes
- Caballero: yes
Do pass as amended
2025-05-23 · pass · 6-0
Member-level votes (7)
- Caballero: yes
- Seyarto: yes
- Wahab: yes
- Cabaldon: yes
- Richardson: yes
- Grayson: yes
- Dahle: other
Special Consent
2025-06-04 · pass · 39-0
Member-level votes (40)
- Durazo: yes
- Menjivar: yes
- Limón: yes
- Rubio: yes
- Pérez: yes
- Padilla: yes
- Richardson: yes
- Smallwood-Cuevas: yes
- Weber Pierson: yes
- Wahab: yes
- Seyarto: yes
- Umberg: yes
- Hurtado: yes
- Grove: yes
- Niello: yes
- Wiener: yes
- Cortese: yes
- Allen: yes
- Cervantes: yes
- Jones: yes
- McGuire: yes
- Stern: yes
- Arreguín: yes
- Blakespear: yes
- Alvarado-Gil: yes
- Laird: yes
- Archuleta: yes
- McNerney: yes
- Cabaldon: yes
- Gonzalez: yes
- Caballero: yes
- Valladares: yes
- Strickland: yes
- Grayson: yes
- Becker: yes
- Ochoa Bogh: yes
- Choi: yes
- Ashby: yes
- Dahle: yes
- Reyes: other
Do pass as amended and be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations]
2025-07-16 · pass · 7-0
Member-level votes (7)
- Tangipa: yes
- Macedo: yes
- Bennett: yes
- Solache: yes
- Pellerin: yes
- Berman: yes
- Stefani: yes
Do pass.
2025-08-29 · pass · 15-0
Member-level votes (15)
- Ta: yes
- Elhawary: yes
- Pellerin: yes
- Fong: yes
- Pacheco: yes
- Tangipa: yes
- Calderon: yes
- Arambula: yes
- Dixon: yes
- Mark González: yes
- Sanchez: yes
- Wicks: yes
- Caloza: yes
- Ahrens: yes
- Solache: yes
SB 3 Cervantes Senate Third Reading By Berman
2025-09-08 · pass · 79-0
Member-level votes (80)
- Addis: yes
- Haney: yes
- Elhawary: yes
- Carrillo: yes
- Ransom: yes
- Berman: yes
- Bauer-Kahan: yes
- Schiavo: yes
- Alvarez: yes
- Caloza: yes
- Hoover: yes
- Ortega: yes
- Solache: yes
- Lowenthal: yes
- Petrie-Norris: yes
- Gabriel: yes
- Zbur: yes
- DeMaio: yes
- Hadwick: yes
- Irwin: yes
- Tangipa: yes
- Patel: yes
- Kalra: yes
- Sanchez: yes
- Johnson: yes
- Mark González: yes
- Gipson: yes
- Hart: yes
- Calderon: yes
- Wilson: yes
- Soria: yes
- Valencia: yes
- Celeste Rodriguez: yes
- Connolly: yes
- Papan: yes
- Bonta: yes
- Jeff Gonzalez: yes
- Alanis: yes
- Patterson: yes
- Jackson: yes
- Davies: yes
- Pellerin: yes
- Muratsuchi: yes
- Krell: yes
- Chen: yes
- Quirk-Silva: yes
- Bains: yes
- Michelle Rodriguez: yes
- Arambula: yes
- Bennett: yes
- Ávila Farías: yes
- Aguiar-Curry: yes
- Lee: yes
- Castillo: yes
- Wallis: yes
- Stefani: yes
- Ta: yes
- Blanca Rubio: yes
- Gallagher: yes
- Ellis: yes
- Macedo: yes
- McKinnor: yes
- Ramos: yes
- Rivas: yes
- Ahrens: yes
- Dixon: yes
- Rogers: yes
- Ward: yes
- Fong: yes
- Wicks: yes
- Schultz: yes
- Pacheco: yes
- Boerner: yes
- Sharp-Collins: yes
- Bryan: yes
- Harabedian: yes
- Lackey: yes
- Flora: yes
- Garcia: yes
- Nguyen: other
Unfinished Business SB3 Cervantes et al. Concurrence
2025-09-10 · pass · 40-0
Member-level votes (40)
- Umberg: yes
- Grove: yes
- Wiener: yes
- Niello: yes
- Jones: yes
- Wahab: yes
- Cortese: yes
- Dahle: yes
- Alvarado-Gil: yes
- Limón: yes
- Seyarto: yes
- Durazo: yes
- Choi: yes
- Archuleta: yes
- Gonzalez: yes
- Smallwood-Cuevas: yes
- Grayson: yes
- Weber Pierson: yes
- Hurtado: yes
- Arreguín: yes
- Laird: yes
- Cervantes: yes
- Rubio: yes
- McGuire: yes
- Reyes: yes
- Blakespear: yes
- Padilla: yes
- Valladares: yes
- Menjivar: yes
- Pérez: yes
- Strickland: yes
- Stern: yes
- Allen: yes
- Caballero: yes
- McNerney: yes
- Ochoa Bogh: yes
- Ashby: yes
- Richardson: yes
- Becker: yes
- Cabaldon: yes
Related bills
No related bills recorded for this bill.
Official source
Attribution
Data from ca_session_collision_repair/2026-09-02, retrieved 2026-09-03T02:10:57.630031Z
Inspect retained evidence for changes recorded after evidence tracking began:
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