Elections: signature verification and results.

Senator Cervantes' elections reform legislation refines California's mail-in voting procedures by establishing new signature verification standards and increasing result reporting requirements. The bill prohibits elections officials from considering voters' personal identifiers like gender, name, and address when comparing ballot signatures, while mandating that signature comparisons focus solely on characteristics like slant, letter formation, and writing style.

The legislation standardizes the forms and processes used for signature verification, requiring elections officials to accept only documents created by the Secretary of State or local election offices. It expands observation rights, allowing designated watchers to monitor how officials verify signatures on both mail-in ballots and signature verification statements. The bill also requires elections officials to notify voters promptly when signatures do not match, providing clear instructions for resolving discrepancies.

For enhanced transparency, the bill doubles the frequency of required election results updates. Officials must post new tallies at least twice in the week following election day and twice weekly thereafter until certification. These updates must appear directly on election websites rather than through separate links, detailing the number of processed ballots and estimated remaining ballots in standardized categories. The legislation maintains existing provisions allowing voters to work with non-governmental organizations to complete verification statements while adding requirements that such assistance adhere to official forms and procedures.