CaliforniaPreservation of election materials.
What it does
Under existing law, various election materials, including ballots, voter rosters, and related documents, must be maintained for a certain amount of time following an election. If an election contest or criminal prosecution has been commenced before the date voted ballots will be destroyed, the ballots may not be destroyed until after final determination of the contest or prosecution.
More detail
This bill would expand that provision to prohibit the destruction of any document or record that must be preserved after an election and any certified voting technology or electronic data, as defined, used for the election until after final determination of any contest or criminal prosecution.
Existing law requires, for an election for the office of the President, Vice president, United States Senator, and United States Representative, specified data to be kept by an elections official, on electronic media, stored and unaltered, for 22 months from the date of the election. For all state and local elections, existing law requires the electronic data to be kept on electronic media for 6 months from the date of the election.
This bill would clarify the types of electronic media holding the specified data to include, but not be limited to, a hard drive, solid-state drive, flash drive, memory card, or other digital storage device. The bill would require the electronic media holding the data to be stored in a sealed container.
Existing law makes it a crime to knowingly take a package containing ballots from the custody of an elections official. Existing law also authorizes the Secretary of State, Attorney General, and appropriate local elections officials to bring a civil action against a person, business, or entity that takes a package containing ballots from the custody of an elections official.
This bill would apply the crime and the authorization to bring a civil action to taking any document, record, certified voting technology, or electronic data, as defined, or portions thereof including source code, or any other election-related material or equipment necessary to the conduct of an election, from the custody of the elections official. By expanding the scope of an existing crime, the bill would create a state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
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Where it stands
- Introduced
- Passed Senate
- Passed Assembly
- To Governor
- Became Law
Looking ahead
No hearings or votes scheduled.
History
- 2026
- Sep 19Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 341, Statutes of 2026.Latest
- Sep 19Approved by the Governor Gavin Newsom.Became Law
- Sep 4Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 2 p.m.To Governor
- Aug 27Assembly amendments concurred in. (Ayes 30. Noes 10. Page 5996.) Ordered to engrossing and enrolling.Major
- Vote recorded Unfinished Business SB1418 Cervantes et al. Urgency Clause Concurrence. Result: pass.Upper
- Aug 27Urgency clause adopted.Major
- Aug 26From committee: That the Assembly amendments be concurred in. (Ayes 4. Noes 1. Page 5925.)Minor
- Vote recorded That the Assembly amendments be concurred in. Result: pass.Upper
- Aug 24From committee: Be re-referred to Com. on E. & C.A. pursuant to Senate Rule 29.10(d). (Ayes 5. Noes 0. Page 5618.) Re-referred to Com. on E. & C.A.Minor
- Aug 24Re-referred to Com. on RLS. pursuant to Senate Rule 29.10(d).Minor
- Aug 20In Senate. Concurrence in Assembly amendments pending.
- Vote recorded SB 1418 Cervantes Third Reading Urgency By Jackson. Result: pass.Lower
- Aug 20Read third time. Urgency clause adopted. Passed. (Ayes 60. Noes 13. Page 6312.) Ordered to the Senate.Passed Assembly
- Aug 17Read second time. Ordered to third reading.Minor
- Aug 13Read second time and amended. Ordered to second reading.Major
- Vote recorded Do pass as amended. Result: pass.Lower
- Aug 13From committee: Do pass as amended. (Ayes 11. Noes 2.) (August 13).Major
- Aug 13Assembly Rule 63 suspended.
- Aug 5August 5 set for first hearing. Placed on suspense file.
- Jul 1From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 6. Noes 2.) (July 1). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.Minor
- Vote recorded Do pass and be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations]. Result: pass.Lower
- Jul 1Coauthors revised.
- Jun 30From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on ELECTIONS. (Ayes 8. Noes 1.) (June 30). Re-referred to Com. on ELECTIONS.Minor
- Vote recorded Do pass and be re-referred to the Committee on [Elections]. Result: pass.Lower
- Jun 22Assembly Rule 56 suspended.
- Jun 15Re-referred to Coms. on PUB. S. and ELECTIONS pursuant to Assembly Rule 96.Minor
- Jun 11From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on ELECTIONS.Major
- May 11Referred to Com. on ELECTIONS.Minor
- Apr 27In Assembly. Read first time. Held at Desk.Minor
- Vote recorded Consent Calendar 2nd. Result: pass.Upper
- Apr 27Read third time. Passed. (Ayes 37. Noes 0. Page 4067.) Ordered to the Assembly.Passed Senate
- Apr 22Read second time. Ordered to consent calendar.Minor
- Apr 21From committee: Do pass. Ordered to consent calendar. (Ayes 5. Noes 0. Page 3971.) (April 21).Minor
- Vote recorded Do pass and be ordered to the Consent Calendar. Result: pass.Upper
- Apr 9Set for hearing April 21.
- Apr 8Re-referred to Com. on E. & C.A.Minor
- Mar 24From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on RLS.Major
- Mar 4Referred to Com. on RLS.Minor
- Feb 23Read first time.Minor
- Feb 23From printer. May be acted upon on or after March 23.
- Feb 20Introduced. To Com. on RLS. for assignment. To print.Introduced