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Elec. Code, § 13231 · Article 2. Allowable Changes in Ballot Format and Printing

Elec. Code, § 13231

Verbatim from the official edition

Text — As published in the Legislative Counsel's database, tables dated October 18, 2026 (pubinfo_2025.zip)

If the elections official of any county finds it necessary in connection with the use of any approved method of vote counting, the elections official may provide for any of the following changes in the format of ballots in one or more precincts at any election:

(a) Ballots may be bound and padded at the side.

(b) The left and right edge of ballots may be trimmed to the edge of printed material.

(c) A series of punched holes may be provided in the upper right-hand portion of each ballot.

(d) The ballot number may be placed at any place along the top left-hand corner of the ballot.

(e) A cutout section, not to exceed two inches in depth, commencing at the left-hand edge of the far right column of the ballot, may be provided along the top edge of the ballot.

(f) Press perforations may be placed between columns of the ballot, from top to bottom, to permit the folding of the ballot at each perforation.

(g) “Yes” and “No” columns where necessary, may be as narrow as one-quarter inch wide.

(h) The instructions to voters may be placed at the bottom of the ballot instead of at the top of the ballot, and an appropriate reference to the location of the instructions may be printed in the upper right portion of the ballot.

(i) The ballot serial number may be placed on any position of the ballot that does not impact other required text or voting targets on the ballot card.

Notes and commentary — not statutory text

History

Amended by Stats. 2019, Ch. 863, Sec. 24. (AB 623) Effective January 1, 2020.

Source of truth

Edition
As published in the Legislative Counsel's database, tables dated October 18, 2026 (pubinfo_2025.zip)
Official file
https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=ELEC&sectionNum=13231.
Text hash
sha256 8a182b09a0e5920316d57071bf4e3ce3d6d77d6634a6d7fdfa03368bfaedaf8e
Composed by
compose_ca.py 2026-10-22: the Legislative Counsel's CAML content files read by a tokenizer (caml_readers.reader_a); an independent xml.etree reading (caml_readers.reader_b) agrees on every section

Procedural information only. Not legal advice and not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Confirm the current text with the official publisher before relying on it.