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California Regulations § 20960 Signature Verification Process

⤴ Up to Article 6: Signature Comparison

Regulation Text

(a) For signature verification, the elections official must compare the signature on an initiative, referendum, recall, nominating petition or paper, signature in-lieu of filing fee, and any other petition or paper must be compared to the voter's signature(s) in the voter's registration record. In addition, the elections official must compare the signature on a voted vote-by-mail envelope and a voted provisional ballot envelope to the voter's signature(s) in the voter's registration record prior to counting a ballot.
(b) On initial review, elections officials shall seek to eliminate the visibility of identifying information. When comparing signatures, the elections official shall not review or consider a voter's party preference, race, or ethnicity.
(c) The comparison of a signature shall begin with the basic presumption that the signature on the petition, the vote-by-mail identification envelope, signature verification statement, unsigned ballot statement, or provisional ballot envelope is the voter's signature.
(d) Exact matches are not required for an elections official to confirm a valid signature. The fact that signatures share similar characteristics is sufficient to determine that a signature is valid.
(e) Similar characteristics between a signature being compared and any signature in the voter's registration record are sufficient to determine a signature is valid.
(f) In comparing the signatures, the elections official may consider the following characteristics when visually comparing a signature to determine whether the signatures are from the same signer:
(1) Slant of the signature.
(2) Signature is printed or in cursive.
(3) Size, proportions, or scale.
(4) Individual characteristics, such as how the "t's" are crossed, "i's" are dotted, or loops are made on the letters f, g, j, y, or z.
(5) Spacing between the letters within the first and/or last name and between first and last name.
(6) Line direction.
(7) Letter formations.
(8) Proportion or ratio of the letters in the signature.
(9) Initial strokes and connecting strokes of the signature.
(10) Similar endings such as an abrupt end, a long tail, or loop back around.
(11) Speed of the writing.
(12) Presence or absence of pen lifts.
(13) Misspelled names.
(g) In comparing signatures on a petition, vote-by-mail identification envelope, signature verification statement, unsigned ballot statement, or provisional ballot envelope, elections officials shall consider as explanations for the following discrepancies in signatures:
(1) Evidence of trembling or shaking in a signature could be health-related or the result of aging.
(2) The voter may have used a variation of their full legal name, including, but not limited to the use of initials, or the rearrangement of components of their full legal name, such as a reversal of first and last names, use of a middle name in place of a first name, or omitting a second last name.
(3) The voter's signature style may have changed over time.
(4) The signature may have been written in haste.
(5) A signature in the voter's registration file may have been written with a stylus pen or other electronic signature tool that may result in a thick or fuzzy quality.
(6) The surface of the location where the signature was made may have been hard, soft, uneven, or unstable.
(h) In addition to the characteristics listed in subdivisions (f) and (g), the elections official may also consider factors applicable to a particular voter, such as the age of the voter, the age of the signature(s) contained in the voter's record, the possibility that the voter is disabled, the voter's primary language, and the quality of any digitized signature(s) contained in the voter's record.
(i) Only a signature possessing multiple, significant, and obvious differing characteristics with all signatures in the voter's registration record will be subject to additional review by the elections official.
(j) A signature that the initial reviewer identifies as possessing multiple, significant, and obvious distinctive differing characteristics from the signature(s) in the voter's registration record shall only be rejected if two different elections officials unanimously find beyond a reasonable doubt that the signature differs in multiple, significant, and obvious respects from all signatures in the voter's registration record.
(k) When evaluating signatures, elections officials may review using broad characteristics to evaluate an entire signature as a unit or they may narrow the scope of their examination to that of specific letters within a signature.
(l) A signature made using a mark, such as an "X", or made by a signature stamp is presumed valid and shall be accepted if it meets the requirements set forth in Elections Code section 354.5 .

Source

1. New article 6 (sections 20960-20962 ) and section filed 9-28-2020 as an emergency; operative 9-28-2020. Emergency expiration extended 60 days (Executive Order oN-40-20) plus an additional 60 days (Executive Order N-66-20) (Register 2020, No. 40). A Certificate of Compliance must be transmitted to OAL by 7-27-2021 or emergency language will be repealed by operation of law on the following day. 2. New article 6 (sections 20960-20962 ) and section refiled 7-12-2021 as an emergency; operative 7-28-2021 (Register 2021, No. 29). A Certificate of Compliance must be transmitted to OAL by 10-26-2021 or emergency language will be repealed by operation of law on the following day. 3. New article 6 (sections 20960-20962 ) and section refiled 11-4-2021 as an emergency; operative 11-4-2021 (Register 2021, No. 45). A Certificate of Compliance must be transmitted to OAL by 2-2-2022 or emergency language will be repealed by operation of law on the following day. 4. Certificate of Compliance as to 11-4-2021 order, including amendment of section and NOTE, transmitted to OAL 1-31-2022 and filed 3-15-2022; amendments effective 3-15-2022 pursuant to Government Code section 11343.4 (b)(3) (Register 2022, No. 11).

History

1. New article 6 (sections 20960-20962 ) and section filed 9-28-2020 as an emergency; operative 9/28/2020 . Emergency expiration extended 60 days (Executive Order oN-40-20) plus an additional 60 days (Executive Order N-66-20) ( Register 2020, No. 40 ). A Certificate of Compliance must be transmitted to OAL by 7-27-2021 or emergency language will be repealed by operation of law on the following day. 2. New article 6 (sections 20960-20962 ) and section refiled 7-12-2021 as an emergency; operative 7-28-2021 (Register 2021, No. 29). A Certificate of Compliance must be transmitted to OAL by 10-26-2021 or emergency language will be repealed by operation of law on the following day. 3. Repealed by operation of Government Code section 11346.1 (g) (Register 2021, No. 45). 4. Certificate of Compliance as to 11-4-2021 order, including amendment of section and Note, transmitted to OAL 1-31-2022 and filed 3-15-2022; amendments effective 3/15/2022 pursuant to Government Code section 11343.4 (b)(3) ( Register 2022, No. 11 ).

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