Elections: voter registration information: elected officials and candidates.

Assembly Members Sharp-Collins and Flora propose new confidentiality protections for elected officials' and candidates' voter registration information through legislation that would exempt their residential addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses from public disclosure requirements. The bill establishes a process requiring the Secretary of State and local elections officials to provide county elections offices with lists of qualifying individuals, after which counties must make the information confidential within five business days.

The measure creates verification responsibilities for both election officials and the protected individuals. County offices must confirm that candidates withholding addresses from nomination papers reside in the appropriate district, while elected officials and candidates must contact their county elections office to verify their information has been properly designated as confidential. The confidentiality provisions remain in effect until an official leaves office or, for candidates, until the winner takes office.

To implement these changes, the bill modifies multiple sections of election law governing voter records, nomination procedures, and information sharing between agencies. It updates declaration of candidacy forms to accommodate confidential status and revises protocols for using consumer credit reporting data to verify voter addresses. The legislation includes liability protections for counties acting on information from the Secretary of State, limiting legal exposure to cases of gross negligence or willful misconduct.

The bill's findings cite the need to protect elected officials' and candidates' safety as justification for limiting public access to their voter registration details. As a state-mandated local program adding duties for county elections officials, the measure provides for reimbursement of associated costs through existing government procedures.