ARTICLE 6. Direct Recording Electronic Voting Systems [19270. - 19275.]

Cal. Elections Code - ELEC 6.

in effect

Cal. Elections Code - ELEC § 19270. Section 19270.

(a) The Secretary of State shall not certify or conditionally approve a direct recording electronic voting system unless the system includes an accessible voter verified paper audit trail. (b) On and after January 1, 2006, a city or county shall not contract for or purchase a direct recording electronic voting system unless the system has been certified or conditionally approved for use by the Secretary of State. (c) As of January 1, 2006, all direct recording electronic voting systems in use on that date, regardless of the date it was contracted for or purchased, shall have received federal qualification and include an accessible voter verified paper audit trail. If the direct recording electronic voting system does not include an accessible voter verified paper audit trail, the system shall be replaced or modified to include an accessible voter verified paper audit trail. (d) All direct recording electronic voting systems shall include a method by which a voter may electronically verify, through a nonvisual method, the information that is contained on the paper record copy of that voter’s ballot. (e) A paper record copy that is printed by a voter verified paper audit trail component shall be printed in the same language that the voter used when casting his or her ballot on the direct recording electronic voting system. For languages that lack a written form, the paper record copy shall be printed in English.

Cal. Elections Code - ELEC § 19271. Section 19271.

As used in this article: (a) “Accessible” means that the information provided on the paper cast vote record from the voter verified paper audit trail mechanism is provided or conveyed to voters via both a visual and a nonvisual method, such as through an audio component. (b) “Direct recording electronic voting system” means a voting system that records a vote electronically and does not require or permit the voter to record his or her vote directly onto a tangible ballot. (c) “Voter verified paper audit trail” means a paper cast vote record containing a copy of each of the voter’s selections that allows each voter to confirm his or her selections before the voter casts his or her ballot for systems that do not contain a paper ballot. (d) “Paper cast vote record” means an auditable document that corresponds to the selection made on the voter’s ballot and lists the contests on the ballot and the voter’s selections for those contests. A paper cast vote record is not a ballot. (e) “Parallel monitoring” means the testing of a randomly selected sampling of voting equipment on election day designed to simulate actual election conditions to confirm that the system is registering votes accurately.

Cal. Elections Code - ELEC § 19272. Section 19272.

To the extent that they are available for expenditure for the purposes of this article, federal funds or moneys from the Voting Modernization Fund, created pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 19254, shall be used. No moneys from the General Fund shall be expended for the purposes of this article.

Cal. Elections Code - ELEC § 19273. Section 19273.

(a) On a direct recording electronic voting system, the electronic record of each vote shall be considered the official record of the vote, except as provided in subdivision (b). (b) (1) The voter verified paper audit trail shall be considered the official paper audit record and shall be used for the required 1-percent manual tally described in Section 15360 and any full recount or post-election audit. (2) The voter verified paper audit trail shall govern if there is any difference between it and the electronic record during a 1-percent manual tally, full recount, or post-election audit.

Cal. Elections Code - ELEC § 19274. Section 19274.

The Secretary of State shall not certify or conditionally approve a direct recording electronic voting system unless the paper used for its voter verified paper audit trail is of sufficient quality that it maintains its integrity and readability throughout the retention period specified in Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 17300) of Division 17.

Cal. Elections Code - ELEC § 19275. Section 19275.

(a) For each statewide election, the Secretary of State shall conduct parallel monitoring of each direct recording electronic voting system on which ballots will be cast. This section shall only apply to precincts that have more than one direct recording electronic voting system. (b) The results of the parallel monitoring shall be made available prior to the certification of the election.

Source: CA Legislative Counsel Bulk DataURL: https://downloads.leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/pubinfo_2025.zipFetched: 6/27/2026