Source: http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/elections-officers-digest/general.htm
Timestamp: 2013-12-06 06:14:37
Document Index: 248567339

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 12302', '§ 12304', '§ 12286', '§ 12316', '§ 12327', '§ 12302', '§ 12302', '§ 12286', '§ 12327', '§ 12320', '§ 12321', '§ 12321', '§ 12309', '§ 12309', '§ 12309', '§ 12309']

Elections Officers Digest 2012 - General - Elections & Voter Information - California Secretary of State
Print Version (pdf ~70KB)
This chapter outlines the composition of precinct boards and the appointment of election officers to these boards for the various elections held.
Precinct boards appointed for each precinct are made up of voters of the state. A member of the precinct board may serve only in the precinct for which his or her appointment was received. High school students over 16 years of age who meet specified requirements may also serve. (§ 12302.) The composition of the precinct board shall be determined by the elections official based on election precinct size. The precinct board shall consist of a minimum of one inspector and two clerks. Additional clerks may be allocated in proportion to the number of registered voters within the precinct. (§ 12304.)
The members of the precinct boards are to be appointed by the elections official in charge of the election not less than 29 days prior to the election. (§ 12286.) In constituting precinct boards, the elections official may excuse persons appointed whom the elections official is satisfied ought to be excused. Substitutions may be made when any person appointed is excused or found disqualified or incompetent, until a final or amended list of election officers is sent to the inspector for that precinct. (§ 12316.) If the precinct board members for any precinct have not been appointed or cannot serve, or the polling place has not been designated prior to an election, the county elections official shall, by written order, immediately appoint the precinct board members or designate the polling place for the precinct, as the case may require, and shall notify each precinct board member of such appointment. If, at this time, the elections official cannot make suitable arrangements for a polling place in any precinct in which none has been designated, the elections official may designate a polling place in any contiguous precinct. Any precinct board member serving in this polling place shall be regarded as serving in the proper precinct within the meaning of this chapter. (§ 12327.)
Is a pupil and has a grade point average of at least 2.5 on a 4.0 scale. (§ 12302(b).)
No pupil appointed as provided above shall be used by a precinct board to tally votes. (§ 12302(c).)
Composition of Board; Number of Members
The members of the several precinct boards are to be appointed not less than 29 days prior to the election, by the elections official having charge or control of the election in the political subdivision in which such election is to be held. (§ 12286.) If the precinct board members for any precinct have not been appointed or cannot serve, the county elections official shall, by written order, immediately appoint the precinct board members and shall notify each precinct board member of such appointment. (§ 12327.)
No person is eligible to act as an election officer until the declaration required by Section 12321 has been signed. (§ 12320.)
The declaration of an inspector and each of the declarations of other members of the precinct board provided for in this article shall be signed in the presence of a witness and shall be as binding on the signer as would be an oath of office. (§ 12321(a)(2).) The form of declaration of the precinct board members is found in section III. Duties of Elections Officeers Before Opening Polls.
I do hereby solemnly declare that I will support the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution ofthe State of California, and that I will to the best of my ability, faithfully discharge the duties of inspector forprecinct _________________________ for the election to be held on ______, 20__.
In lieu of signing and returning the declaration of the inspector, as provided in this chapter, the county elections official may require the inspector to sign the declaration on the day of election and before entering upon the performance of these duties. (§ 12321(d).)
Following the appointment of members of precinct boards, the elections official shall instruct inspectors so appointed concerning their duties in connection with the conduct of the election, which instruction shall conform to the uniform standards adopted by the Secretary of State pursuant to Section 12309.5. (§ 12309(a).) A person may not serve as an inspector of a precinct board at an election unless instruction has been received in accordance with this section except that, in the case of the emergency disability of a regular inspector, substitute inspectors shall be given any instruction found necessary by the elections official. (§ 12309(b).) At the request of the elections official, the legislative body may contract with any qualified person or organization for purposes of instructing inspectors in accordance with this section. (§ 12309(c).)
The uniform standards for the training of precinct board members must address the following, at a minimum: (1) the rights of voters, including language access rights for linguistic minority voters, the disabled, and the protected classes (42 U.S.C. Sec. 1973 et seq.); (2) election challenge procedures; (3) operation of a jurisdiction's voting system; (4) poll hours and procedures concerning the opening and closing of polling locations; (5) relevant election laws and any other subjects that will assist the inspector in carrying out his or her duties; (6) cultural competency; (7) knowledge regarding issues confronting voters who have disabilities; (8) and provisional and vote- by-mail ballot procedures. (§ 12309.5.)