Elections: ballot mistakes.

Assembly Member Pellerin's proposal to establish uniform standards for correcting ballot mistakes would create California's first statewide protocol for voters seeking to fix errors on their ballots. The legislation directs the Secretary of State to develop standardized guidelines in partnership with county elections officials.

The measure authorizes the Secretary of State to implement regulations ensuring these new standards are applied consistently across all California counties. Under the proposed framework, the Secretary of State would consult with local election administrators to determine appropriate procedures for ballot corrections while maintaining statewide uniformity in the process.

Currently, the Secretary of State serves as California's chief elections officer with broad authority to regulate election administration, but no specific statewide standards exist for addressing voter mistakes on ballots. This addition to the Elections Code would create dedicated procedures for handling such errors within the existing electoral system.