Voting: signature verification.

Assembly Member Berman's elections reform package modifies California's vote-by-mail ballot processing procedures by adjusting signature verification timelines and enhancing ballot tracking capabilities. The legislation establishes new deadlines for elections officials to notify voters of signature issues and for voters to verify their signatures - 14 days after election day for notification and 22 days after election day for verification in statewide elections, with shorter windows for local elections.

The bill permits elections officials to use ballot drop boxes for receiving signature verification forms after election day and requires officials to update voter registration records with verified signatures for use in future elections. It also codifies requirements for the Secretary of State's ballot tracking system, mandating notifications at key stages including ballot delivery, expected arrival dates, and final disposition status.

To expedite election certification, the legislation allows officials to reduce the daily canvass period from six hours when only signature verification ballots remain to be processed and certification deadlines can still be met. The measure additionally strengthens voter privacy protections by treating information about voters with signature issues as confidential voter registration data, while maintaining access for authorized election, scholarly, and journalistic purposes.

The changes create new administrative responsibilities for local elections officials, triggering state reimbursement requirements for associated costs as determined by the Commission on State Mandates. Counties must either utilize the Secretary of State's tracking system or implement their own system providing equivalent or superior service levels to voters.