Elections Division

Election Observations Rights and Responsibilities

The Secretary of State has submitted proposed regulations to the Office of Administrative Law, which provide for election observations rights and responsibilities.  The regulations provide guidance for observers and elections officials to follow. 

Any interested person, or their authorized representative, may submit written comments pertaining to the text of the proposed regulations. The Secretary of State will accept written comments on the proposed regulations from July 29, 2022, to September 12, 2022. The Secretary of State will consider only comments received at the Secretary of State’s office by that date. No hearing date has been scheduled; however, any interested person, or their authorized representative, can submit a written request for a public hearing no later than Monday, August 29, 2022. 

Notices Regarding Prohibition of Electioneering and Corruption of the Voting Process 

The Secretary of State has submitted proposed regulations to the Office of Administrative Law to make permanent the emergency regulations it adopted on February 22, 2022, related to notice requirements regarding the prohibition of electioneering and activity related to the corruption of the voting process.  

Any interested person, or their authorized representative, may submit written comments pertaining to the text of the proposed regulations. The Secretary of State will accept written comments on the proposed regulations from July 29, 2022, to September 12, 2022. The Secretary of State will consider only comments received at the Secretary of State’s office by that date. No hearing date has been scheduled; however, any interested person, or their authorized representative, can submit a written request for a public hearing no later than 15 days prior to the close of the written comment period.   

Notices Regarding Prohibition of Electioneering and Corruption of the Voting Process (Emergency Readopt)

The Secretary of State is proposing to readopt the emergency regulations it adopted on February 22, 2022, related to notice requirements regarding the prohibition of electioneering and activity that relates to the corruption of the voting process. The purpose of the readoption is to keep the emergency regulations in effect during the time of the regular rulemaking process to make the emergency regulations permanent.

This notice period will run from August 11, 2022, through August 19, 2022. At the end of the notice period, the Secretary of State will submit the required documents to the Office of Administrative Law for the readoption of these emergency regulations.

Experimental Use of a Voting System in a Pilot Program 

The Secretary of State has submitted proposed regulations to the Office of Administrative Law related to the experimental use of voting system in a pilot program on August 5, 2022. The regulations provide California jurisdictions a clear, concise path when seeking the experimental use of a voting system in a pilot program.  In addition, they provide clear and concise regulations for jurisdictions using an experimental voting system.  

Any interested person, or their authorized representative, may submit written comments pertaining to the text of the proposed regulations. The Secretary of State will accept written comments on the proposed regulations no later than September 19, 2022. The Secretary of State will consider only comments received at the Secretary of State’s office by that date. A public hearing is scheduled for September 20, 2022, at 10:00 a.m. PST, on the Experimental Use of a Voting System in a Pilot Program Regulations.   

Conditional Voter Registration ​​ 

The Secretary of State has submitted proposed regulations to the Office of Administrative Law to make permanent the emergency regulations it adopted on April 25, 2022, related to conditional voter registration.

Any interested person, or their authorized representative, may submit written comments pertaining to the text of the proposed regulations. The Secretary of State will accept written comments on the proposed regulations from August 26, 2022, to October 17, 2022. The Secretary of State will consider only comments received at the Secretary of State’s office by that date. No hearing date has been scheduled; however, any interested person, or their authorized representative, can submit a written request for a public hearing no later than 15 days prior to the close of the written comment period.   

Conditional Voter Registration (Emergency Readopt) ​​ 

The Secretary of State is proposing to readopt emergency regulations it adopted on April 25, 2022, related to Conditional Voter Registration. These regulations were adopted pursuant to Senate Bill 504 (Chapter 14 of the Statutes of 2022) (SB 504). The purpose of the readoption is to keep the emergency regulations in effect during the time of the regular rulemaking process to make the emergency regulations permanent.

Notice Period:

This notice period will run from October 10, 2022, through October 18, 2022. At the end of the notice period, the Secretary of State will submit the required documents to the Office of Administrative Law (OAL) for the adoption of these emergency regulations.

Public Comments:

Comments on a proposed emergency regulations must be submitted directly to OAL within five calendar days from when OAL posts the proposed emergency regulations on the OAL web site. Comments on the proposed emergency regulations should be submitted to the OAL Reference Attorney by mail to 300 Capitol Mall, Suite 1250, Sacramento, CA 95814, by fax to (916) 323-6826, or by e-mail to staff@oal.ca.gov. When submitting a comment on the proposed emergency regulations, a copy of the comment must also be submitted to Rachelle Delucchi at rdelucch@sos.ca.gov or Raj Bathla at rbathla@sos.ca.gov.