Voting: polling place procedures.

Existing law establishes procedures to be followed at polling places on election day. Existing law provides that a voter may not remain in or occupy a voting booth or compartment longer than is necessary to mark his or her ballot, which may not exceed either 5 or 10 minutes, as specified, but permits a voter to remain for a longer period of time if no other voter would be inconvenienced. This bill would delete the provision permitting a voter to remain for a longer period of time if no other voter would be inconvenienced and would, instead, permit a voter to remain for longer than 10 minutes if the voter informs a precinct board member that the voter requires additional time to mark his or her ballot. However, if the precinct board member determines that the voter is attempting to interfere with the conduct of the election and does not require additional time to mark his or her ballot, this bill would permit the precinct board member to contact the elections official, who would be authorized to order that the voter not be provided with additional time to mark his or her ballot. This bill would also repeal the provisions that limit a voter to 5 minutes in a voting booth or compartment while marking his or her ballot using a voting machine.