Cal. Code Regs. Tit. 2, § 20960 - Signature Verification Process
(a) For signature verification, the elections
official must compare the signature on an initiative, referendum, recall,
nominating petition or paper, signature in-lieu of filing fee, and any other
petition or paper must be compared to the voter's signature(s) in the voter's
registration record. In addition, the elections official must compare the
signature on a voted vote-by-mail envelope and a voted provisional ballot
envelope to the voter's signature(s) in the voter's registration record prior
to counting a ballot.
(b) On
initial review, elections officials shall seek to eliminate the visibility of
identifying information. When comparing signatures, the elections official
shall not review or consider a voter's party preference, race, or
ethnicity.
(c) The comparison of a
signature shall begin with the basic presumption that the signature on the
petition, the vote-by-mail identification envelope, signature verification
statement, unsigned ballot statement, or provisional ballot envelope is the
voter's signature.
(d) Exact
matches are not required for an elections official to confirm a valid
signature. The fact that signatures share similar characteristics is sufficient
to determine that a signature is valid.
(e) Similar characteristics between a
signature being compared and any signature in the voter's registration record
are sufficient to determine a signature is valid.
(f) In comparing the signatures, the
elections official may consider the following characteristics when visually
comparing a signature to determine whether the signatures are from the same
signer:
(1) Slant of the signature.
(2) Signature is printed or in
cursive.
(3) Size, proportions, or
scale.
(4) Individual
characteristics, such as how the "t's" are crossed, "i's" are dotted, or loops
are made on the letters f, g, j, y, or z.
(5) Spacing between the letters within the
first and/or last name and between first and last name.
(6) Line direction.
(7) Letter formations.
(8) Proportion or ratio of the letters in the
signature.
(9) Initial strokes and
connecting strokes of the signature.
(10) Similar endings such as an abrupt end, a
long tail, or loop back around.
(11) Speed of the writing.
(12) Presence or absence of pen
lifts.
(13) Misspelled
names.
(g) In comparing
signatures on a petition, vote-by-mail identification envelope, signature
verification statement, unsigned ballot statement, or provisional ballot
envelope, elections officials shall consider as explanations for the following
discrepancies in signatures:
(1) Evidence of
trembling or shaking in a signature could be health-related or the result of
aging.
(2) The voter may have used
a variation of their full legal name, including, but not limited to the use of
initials, or the rearrangement of components of their full legal name, such as
a reversal of first and last names, use of a middle name in place of a first
name, or omitting a second last name.
(3) The voter's signature style may have
changed over time.
(4) The
signature may have been written in haste.
(5) A signature in the voter's registration
file may have been written with a stylus pen or other electronic signature tool
that may result in a thick or fuzzy quality.
(6) The surface of the location where the
signature was made may have been hard, soft, uneven, or
unstable.
(h) In addition
to the characteristics listed in subdivisions (f) and (g), the elections
official may also consider factors applicable to a particular voter, such as
the age of the voter, the age of the signature(s) contained in the voter's
record, the possibility that the voter is disabled, the voter's primary
language, and the quality of any digitized signature(s) contained in the
voter's record.
(i) Only a
signature possessing multiple, significant, and obvious differing
characteristics with all signatures in the voter's registration record will be
subject to additional review by the elections official.
(j) A signature that the initial reviewer
identifies as possessing multiple, significant, and obvious distinctive
differing characteristics from the signature(s) in the voter's registration
record shall only be rejected if two different elections officials unanimously
find beyond a reasonable doubt that the signature differs in multiple,
significant, and obvious respects from all signatures in the voter's
registration record.
(k) When
evaluating signatures, elections officials may review using broad
characteristics to evaluate an entire signature as a unit or they may narrow
the scope of their examination to that of specific letters within a
signature.
(l) A signature made
using a mark, such as an "X", or made by a signature stamp is presumed valid
and shall be accepted if it meets the requirements set forth in Elections Code
section 354.5.
Notes
2. New article 6 (sections 20960-20962) and section refiled 7-12-2021 as an emergency; operative 7-28-2021 (Register 2021, No. 29). A Certificate of Compliance must be transmitted to OAL by 10-26-2021 or emergency language will be repealed by operation of law on the following day.
3. New article 6 (sections 20960-20962) and section refiled 11-4-2021 as an emergency; operative 11-4-2021 (Register 2021, No. 45). A Certificate of Compliance must be transmitted to OAL by 2-2-2022 or emergency language will be repealed by operation of law on the following day.
4. Certificate of Compliance as to 11-4-2021 order, including amendment of section and NOTE, transmitted to OAL 1-31-2022 and filed 3-15-2022; amendments effective 3-15-2022 pursuant to Government Code section 11343.4(b)(3) (Register 2022, No. 11).
Note: Authority cited: Section 12172.5, Government Code. Reference: Sections 354.5, 3019 and 14310, Elections Code; and Section 12172.5, Government Code.
2. New article 6 (sections 20960-20962) and section refiled 7-12-2021 as an emergency; operative 7-28-2021 (Register 2021, No. 29). A Certificate of Compliance must be transmitted to OAL by 10-26-2021 or emergency language will be repealed by operation of law on the following day.
3. Repealed by operation of Government Code section 11346.1(g)(Register 2021, No. 45).
4. Certificate of Compliance as to 11-4-2021 order, including amendment of section and Note, transmitted to OAL 1-31-2022 and filed 3-15-2022; amendments effective
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