Election procedures: certified mail and superior courts.

The Committee on Elections presents a measure that reconfigures election administration by shifting several notices and candidacy-related communications from traditional registered mail to certified mail, with electronic delivery for select Secretary of State interactions, and by standardizing recall and recount procedures across state, county, city, and special districts. The package also redefines core recall-structure terms to align authority and process across multiple jurisdictions.

Key mechanisms include a certified-mail emphasis for candidacy filings and recall notices, alongside required electronic delivery for certain official communications with the Secretary of State. The measure redefines who serves as the “elections official” in recall contexts—spanning county and city officials and governing-board secretaries—and clarifies who conducts recall actions based on whether targets are state-level appellate judges or county-level superior court judges. It also sets out explicit thresholds for recall petitions that vary by office and jurisdiction, using a baseline tied to registered voters or constitutional standards, and it introduces standardized, public, randomized alphabet drawings to determine ballot order, with separate runoffs for charter cities. Recounts and related contests are updated to require electronic transmission of recount requests and affidavits of mailing, with detailed timing for filings, service, and trial.

Implementation details address the flow of information and recordkeeping: notices and petitions are logged by the receiving official, service of process can be accomplished by attorney-for-service arrangements, and notices to candidates are sent by certified mail with return receipts. The measure introduces or strengthens electronic-delivery provisions for transmission of recount requests, alphabet-drawing results, and related confirmations, while preserving traditional publication and mailing requirements where specified. It also ties some provisions to sequencing with another measure, creating a conditional operative pathway for certain amendments, and establishes a mandate-reimbursement framework if state costs are found to be imposed on local agencies.

Together, the changes aim to standardize recall and recount procedures across governmental levels, integrate electronic communications into election administration, and clarify roles and thresholds within the recall framework. The package situates these updates within a broader context that includes potential interactions with charter provisions, local cost considerations, and the timing of enactment relative to related legislation, outlining a pathway for local agencies to seek reimbursement if costs are mandated by the state.