Elections.

Existing law requires the gathering of a specified number of signatures by petition to nominate a candidate or qualify a measure or recall for the ballot, among other purposes. Existing law requires elections officials to verify the signatures on a petition in accordance with specified procedures. This bill would authorize a county elections official who verifies signatures on petitions or papers that are required to be signed by voters of a county, city, school district, or special district subject to petitioning to establish and require the use of a standardized petition form for distribution within and submission to the county. Existing law authorizes a candidate for nonpartisan elective office in a local agency to prepare a candidate's statement on a form provided by the elections official, as specified. If the elections official who is conducting the election permits electronic distribution of a candidate's statement, existing law permits the governing body of a local agency to permit a candidate for nonpartisan elective office in the local agency to prepare a candidate's statement for the purpose of electronic distribution. This bill instead would permit a candidate for nonpartisan elective office in the local agency to prepare a candidate's statement for the purposes of electronic distribution if the elections official who is conducting the election or the county elections official who is conducting the local agency's election, including a local election consolidated with the county election, permits electronic distribution. The bill would make additional nonsubstantive changes.