Elections: translation of election materials.

The threshold for requiring translated election materials in a county or precinct increased from at least 5,000 limited-English-proficient voting age citizens (or 5% of voting age citizens) to at least 10,000 (or 5%). This means fewer jurisdictions will be required to provide translated ballots.

The deadline for the Secretary of State to identify counties meeting the translation criteria was changed from December 15, 2028 to December 15, 2031. The recurring identification cycle also shifted from every year ending in 1 or 6 to every year ending in 1 or 7.

The Secretary of State's authority to require translations in languages not meeting the statutory criteria was narrowed. Previously, citizens could show 'a significant need exists for translation into that language.' Now they must demonstrate that a language group 'in fact meets one or more of those criteria' (i.e., the 10,000-person or 5% threshold). This discretionary authority also now has a start date of January 1, 2027.

The bill no longer adds Section 14033 to the Elections Code. The new sections are renumbered as Sections 14034 and 14035, and Section 14032 is repealed (rather than repealed and replaced). All cross-references throughout the bill were updated accordingly.

Senator Wahab was added as a Senate coauthor and Assembly Member Pellerin was added as an Assembly coauthor, expanding the bill's sponsorship.

A new provision was added stating that the bill incorporates additional changes to Section 13307 of the Elections Code proposed by SB 715, operative only if both bills are enacted and SB 1360 is enacted last. This coordinates the two bills to avoid conflicts.

The threshold for requiring translated election materials was raised from at least 5,000 limited English proficient voting age citizens (or 5 percent) to at least 10,000 (or 5 percent), doubling the absolute number needed to trigger the requirement.

A new provision was added addressing situations where a language group that has not been formally determined by the Secretary of State to meet the statutory criteria in fact meets one or more of those criteria, creating an additional pathway for translation requirements.

The initial deadline for the Secretary of State to identify qualifying counties was moved up from December 15, 2028 to December 15, 2027, and the recurring determination cycle was adjusted from years ending in 1 or 6 to years ending in 1 or 7.

The Secretary of State's identification duty was narrowed from 'counties and other political subdivisions' to just 'counties,' though the translation obligation still applies to identified political subdivisions more broadly.

A new Section 1 adds legislative findings stating that over 43 percent of California households speak a language other than English at home, over 3 million eligible voters are limited English proficient, and translated materials correlate with increased voter participation. The bill also includes findings that the changes address a matter of statewide concern rather than a municipal affair, making them applicable to all cities including charter cities.

Two new code sections (14034 and 14035) were added to the Elections Code. Throughout the bill, references to Section 14032 were expanded to 'Section 14032, 14035' in numerous provisions covering voter registration cards, cancellation notices, electronic registration, and outreach materials.

Coauthors were added: Senator Rubio and Assembly Members Fong, Garcia, and Nguyen. References to Sections 10010 and 21130 were removed from the list of amended sections. The phrase 'within a specified period of time' was added to the Voting Rights Act translation requirement.

The bill now covers dozens of Elections Code sections (2103, 2158, 2201, 2265, 2406, 2408, 4005, 4008, 9054, 10010, 12303, 13107, 13209, 13211.7, 13307, 14026, 14105.3, 14111, 14200, 14201, 14219, 14282, 19101, 21130) plus new Section 14033 and a rewritten Section 14032, compared to the original single-section nonsubstantive amendment.

The Secretary of State must identify counties and political subdivisions where at least 5,000 voting-age citizens (or 5% of voting-age citizens) are limited English proficient and members of a single language minority group or speak a shared language. First determination due by December 15, 2028, then every year ending in 1 or 6.

Elections officials in identified political subdivisions must provide translated election materials including all official and sample ballots, voter registration forms, and election notices and instructions in any language meeting the threshold criteria.

Elections officials must have a sufficient number of bilingual election workers to provide language assistance to any voter who needs it.

If the Secretary of State or another state agency provides election-related forms, instructions, assistance, or other materials in an identified political subdivision, those must be translated into any language meeting the criteria within that subdivision.

Extensive new requirements for all-mailed ballot elections under Section 4005, including: at least one vote center per 10,000 registered voters on election day and the three prior days; at least two ballot dropoff locations or one per 15,000 registered voters; language assistance at vote centers in all required languages; establishment of language accessibility, voting accessibility, and voter education advisory committees; and a public planning process with draft plan, comment periods, and public hearings.

The Secretary of State is authorized to require translation in a language that does not meet the numerical threshold if interested citizens or entities provide a preponderance of evidence that a significant need exists for translation into that language.

Changed from no fiscal committee impact to yes, and from no state-mandated local program to yes. The bill now includes reimbursement provisions for state-mandated costs determined by the Commission on State Mandates.

Throughout the bill, 'Internet Web site' is changed to 'internet website' as a conforming terminology update.

The entire provision amending Section 15671 (county central committee elections - tie votes) is removed from the bill. The old version made a nonsubstantive change to how ties are resolved in county central committee elections; this is no longer part of the bill.

The operative date provision for Section 2201 ('This section shall become operative on July 1, 2025') is removed, likely because that date has already passed and the provision is now in effect.

Multiple instances of 'his or her' are replaced with 'their' throughout the bill for gender-neutral language (e.g., 'his or her office' becomes 'their office').

The term 'Internet Web site' is consistently changed to 'internet website' throughout the bill.

Duplicate Budget Act chapter citations corrected from 'Chs. 21 and 69, 21, 69, and 240, Stats. 2021' to 'Chs. 21, 69, and 240, Stats. 2021'.

The fiscal committee and state-mandated local program designations are confirmed as 'yes' (previously shown as amendments from 'no' to 'yes').