About Elections Division

The Secretary of State's Elections Division has a wide variety of responsibilities in administering elections in California. Among its many duties, the Elections Division:

Certifies the official lists of candidates running for state offices

Advises candidates and local elections officials on the qualifications and requirements for running for office

Provides guidance on how candidates can select acceptable candidate ballot designations

Determines the order in which candidates are placed on the ballot

Tracks and certifies ballot initiatives. State measures must be verified by the Elections Division before they can be placed on the ballot.

Coordinates the tabulation of the votes from each county on election night. After each election, the Elections Division produces the official Statements of Vote, the official compilation of vote totals for each state election.

Determines which types of voting systems may be used in California

Uses its Voter Registration and Outreach team to produce voter registration forms, voter information publications, and encourage people to register and vote.

The materials on this site changes often, especially during election season, and there are several RSS feed subscriptions that will deliver updated information directly to your news reader or email. The available Election Division RSS feeds are:

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