Californiaeai-v0

EAIElectoral Access Index

How accessible is the franchise under codified procedure?

Access37.5%11/28 · 25 datapoints · 7 dimensionsCompare across jurisdictions →

Dimensions

Administration50.0%

1/1 · 1 datapoint

Eligibility100.0%

5/5 · 3 datapoints

Identification20.0%

1/5 · 5 datapoints

Registration0.0%

0/7 · 6 datapoints

Roll Integrity0.0%

0/1 · 1 datapoint

Voter Assistance66.7%

2/3 · 3 datapoints

Voting Methods33.3%

2/6 · 6 datapoints

Administration

50.0% · 1/1

Datapoint	Score	Rationale & evidence	Source
ADMIN.1Election administration independenceIs the election administration body's independence (appointment by multiple branches, fixed terms, balanced political composition) codified in statute or constitution?	0.5/150.0%	Cal. Elec. Code § 16100 enumerates election-contest grounds with judicial review, implying an elections-administration structure governed by statute. § 15625 codifies recount-board independence (4 individuals appointed by elections official). CA's SoS + county-elections-officials structure is statutorily codified, but the FTS-surfaced candidates don't show the full multi-branch/term/balance picture from Gov Code 12172.5 (SoS) and Elec Code Div 1 (officials).	§ view source 2026-05-17

Eligibility

100.0% · 5/5

Datapoint	Score	Rationale & evidence	Source
ELIG.1Age and residency in constitutionAre the minimum age and residency requirements for voting set in the constitution (rather than statute alone)?	1/1100.0%	Cal. Const. Art. II § 2(a) sets the constitutional voter-eligibility floor: 'A United States citizen 18 years of age and resident in this State may vote.' Constitutional framing of age + residency + citizenship. “SEC. 2. (a) A United States citizen 18 years of age and resident in this State may vote.”	§ view source 2026-05-17
ELIG.2Disqualification frameworkIf voters can be disqualified (felony, mental incompetence), are the criteria and the duration codified in statute, with a defined restoration procedure?	3/3100.0%	Cal. Const. Art. II § 4 constitutionally frames the disqualification regime: mental incompetence and state/federal felony imprisonment, with the Legislature directed to implement details. Restoration is constitutionally codified in § 2(b). Combined: constitutional framing with statutory restoration (Prop 17, 2020) — ordinal level 3. “SEC. 4. The Legislature shall prohibit improper practices that affect elections and shall provide for the disqualification of electors while mentally incompetent or serving a state or federal prison term for the conviction of a felony.”	§ view source 2026-05-17
ELIG.3Restoration of voting rightsWhere rights are lost (e.g., post-felony), is the procedure for restoration codified, with statutory deadlines and automatic restoration where applicable?	1/1100.0%	Cal. Const. Art. II § 2(b) (Prop 17, 2020) codifies AUTOMATIC restoration: 'An elector disqualified from voting while serving a state or federal prison term, as described in Section 4, shall have their right to vote restored upon the completion of their prison term.' No application process required — automatic upon prison-term completion.	§ view source 2026-05-17

Datapoint

Score

Rationale & evidence

Source

ELIG.1Age and residency in constitutionAre the minimum age and residency requirements for voting set in the constitution (rather than statute alone)?

1/1100.0%

Cal. Const. Art. II § 2(a) sets the constitutional voter-eligibility floor: 'A United States citizen 18 years of age and resident in this State may vote.' Constitutional framing of age + residency + citizenship.

“SEC. 2. (a) A United States citizen 18 years of age and resident in this State may vote.”

§ view source

2026-05-17

ELIG.2Disqualification frameworkIf voters can be disqualified (felony, mental incompetence), are the criteria and the duration codified in statute, with a defined restoration procedure?

3/3100.0%

Cal. Const. Art. II § 4 constitutionally frames the disqualification regime: mental incompetence and state/federal felony imprisonment, with the Legislature directed to implement details. Restoration is constitutionally codified in § 2(b). Combined: constitutional framing with statutory restoration (Prop 17, 2020) — ordinal level 3.

“SEC. 4. The Legislature shall prohibit improper practices that affect elections and shall provide for the disqualification of electors while mentally incompetent or serving a state or federal prison term for the conviction of a felony.”

§ view source

2026-05-17

ELIG.3Restoration of voting rightsWhere rights are lost (e.g., post-felony), is the procedure for restoration codified, with statutory deadlines and automatic restoration where applicable?

1/1100.0%

Cal. Const. Art. II § 2(b) (Prop 17, 2020) codifies AUTOMATIC restoration: 'An elector disqualified from voting while serving a state or federal prison term, as described in Section 4, shall have their right to vote restored upon the completion of their prison term.' No application process required — automatic upon prison-term completion.

§ view source

2026-05-17

Identification

20.0% · 1/5

Datapoint	Score	Rationale & evidence	Source
ID.1Statutory groundingIf ID is required at any point in voting, is the requirement set in statute rather than regulation? If no ID is required, is that explicit in statute?	0/10.0%	No candidate sections returned by FTS.	no FTS match 2026-05-17
ID.2Enumerated acceptable IDsAre the acceptable ID forms exhaustively enumerated in statute, not left to administrator discretion?	0/10.0%	No candidate sections returned by FTS.	no FTS match 2026-05-17
ID.3Free alternative IDIf government-issued ID is required, is a free state-issued ID available by statute to anyone who lacks one?	0/10.0%	No candidate sections returned by FTS.	no FTS match 2026-05-17
ID.4At-polls cure procedureIs the cure procedure for a voter who arrives without ID (provisional ballot, affidavit, return-with-ID, signature match) defined in statute?	1/1100.0%	Cal. Elec. Code § 15305 references the universe of 'unprocessed ballot' types including 'voted provisional ballot' and 'voted conditional registration ballot' — implying a statutory provisional-ballot regime exists for at-polls cure (codified in detail in Div 14 § 14310, not ingested here). § 15601 requires SoS regulations specifying recount procedures including provisional ballots.	§ view source 2026-05-17
ID.5Rejection appeal procedureIs the appeal procedure for a rejected ID (or rejected provisional ballot due to ID) codified in statute?	0/10.0%	No candidate sections returned by FTS.	no FTS match 2026-05-17

Registration

0.0% · 0/7

Datapoint	Score	Rationale & evidence	Source
REG.1Statutory registration deadlineIs the registration cutoff relative to election day defined by statute (not regulation or administrative directive)?	0/10.0%	No candidate sections returned by FTS.	no FTS match 2026-05-17
REG.2Enumerated registration methodsAre the available registration methods (in-person, mail, online, motor-voter, automatic, same-day where applicable) exhaustively enumerated in statute?	0/10.0%	No candidate sections returned by FTS.	no FTS match 2026-05-17
REG.3Cure procedure for incomplete registrationDoes statute define a cure procedure when a registration is rejected as incomplete?	0/10.0%	§ 18102 criminalizes knowing registration of nonexistent/false-name/ineligible persons; § 18101 same for false registration. These are CRIMINAL protections of the registration process — not a cure procedure. Cure provisions are in Div 2 (not ingested).	§ view source 2026-05-17
REG.4Rejection challenge rightIs the voter's right to challenge a rejected or removed registration codified in statute?	0/10.0%	Div 16 contest provisions (§§ 16442, 16462, 16521) provide a judicial contest mechanism for election outcomes, not specifically for rejected registrations. CA's registration-challenge procedure lives in Div 2 (Elec Code § 2222-2229, not ingested).	§ view source 2026-05-17
REG.5Roll-maintenance criteria in statuteAre the criteria for removing voters from rolls (death, change of address, inactivity) defined in statute, not regulation?	0/20.0%	No candidate sections returned by FTS.	no FTS match 2026-05-17
REG.6Pre-purge notice & cure periodIs a statutory notice-and-opportunity-to-cure required before a voter is removed from the rolls?	0/10.0%	No candidate sections returned by FTS.	no FTS match 2026-05-17

Roll Integrity

0.0% · 0/1

Datapoint	Score	Rationale & evidence	Source
ROLL.1Voter-data security & breach notificationIs the data security regime for the voter registry (encryption requirements, breach notification, access logs) codified in statute?	0/10.0%	No candidate sections returned by FTS.	no FTS match 2026-05-17

Voter Assistance

66.7% · 2/3

Datapoint	Score	Rationale & evidence	Source
ASSIST.1Language assistance thresholdAre the triggers for language assistance (bilingual ballots, language-minority population thresholds) codified in statute?	0/10.0%	No candidate sections returned by FTS.	no FTS match 2026-05-17
ASSIST.2Disability assistanceIs the right to be assisted in voting by a person of the voter's choosing — and the rules for who may assist — codified in statute?	1/1100.0%	Cal. Elec. Code § 19240 mandates voting-system compliance with the federal Help America Vote Act's disability accessibility provisions, including non-visual accessibility. § 19283 + § 19242 codify SoS regulations for accessible vote-by-mail systems. Disability-assistance framework is codified through HAVA-incorporation.	§ view source 2026-05-17
ASSIST.3Illiteracy assistanceIs assistance for voters who cannot read codified, with a defined procedure protecting ballot secrecy?	1/1100.0%	Cal. Elec. Code § 18573 makes it a felony (16 months to 3 years) to mislead a voter who cannot read by furnishing or representing a ballot's contents falsely. This is criminal-protection of the illiterate-assistance procedure (assistance itself is codified in Div 14 §§ 14282-14283 which wasn't ingested for this dataset).	§ view source 2026-05-17

Voting Methods

33.3% · 2/6

Datapoint	Score	Rationale & evidence	Source
VM.1In-person polling-place hoursAre polling-place opening and closing hours set by statute (not local administrative discretion)?	0/10.0%	Cal. Elec. Code § 15281 references 'the official time fixed for the closing of the polls' as a known statutory anchor — implying poll hours are codified statutorily (Div 14 § 14212 sets 7am-8pm). § 15250.5 references 'when the polls are closed.' Hours are statutory but the section that sets them wasn't ingested.	§ view source 2026-05-17
VM.2Mail-in voting procedureIf mail-in voting is permitted, is the full procedure (application, deadline, return, signature verification, cure) codified in statute?	1/1100.0%	Cal. Elec. Code § 15101 codifies the vote-by-mail processing timeline (mail-out no later than 29 days before election; processing begin date). § 15104 mandates open public processing. § 15106 incorporates election laws by reference. Combined with Div 3 of Elec Code (not ingested) which codifies all-vote-by-mail under the Voter's Choice Act, CA has the most comprehensive mail-in framework in the corpus.	§ view source 2026-05-17
VM.3Absentee voting frameworkIs the absentee voting framework (eligibility, application, return, treatment) codified in statute?	0/10.0%	No candidate sections returned by FTS.	no FTS match 2026-05-17
VM.4Early voting periodIf early in-person voting is permitted, is the early voting period and the locations rule set by statute?	0/10.0%	No candidate sections returned by FTS.	no FTS match 2026-05-17
VM.5Drop-box procedureIf ballot drop-boxes are permitted, are placement, security, and chain-of-custody procedures defined in statute (not administrative directive)?	0/10.0%	No section in the FTS-surfaced candidates satisfies this criterion. Best signal: § 18302 criminalizes misdirection literature about polling-place locations but does not codify drop-box procedure. CA's drop-box framework is in Elec Code §§ 3025-3025.5 (Div 3, not ingested).	§ view source 2026-05-17
VM.6Provisional ballot right & procedureIs the right to cast a provisional ballot, and the procedure for adjudicating it, codified in statute?	1/1100.0%	Cal. Elec. Code § 19207.5 references voting-machine certification requirements for casting/tallying ballots; § 15305 references the universe of voted provisional ballots; § 15601 mandates SoS regulations for recounting provisional ballots. The provisional-ballot right is codified at § 14310 (Div 14, not ingested) but the procedural ratification through Div 15/19 is surfaced.	§ view source 2026-05-17

Other methodologies for California

EAdI Administration ECI Finance EDRI Disputes EVCI Confidence EII Integrity