§ 18502

(a) Any person who in any manner interferes with the officers holding an election or conducting a canvass, as to prevent the election or canvass from being fairly held and lawfully conducted, or with the voters lawfully exercising their rights of voting at an election, is punishable by imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170 of the Penal Code for 16 months or two or three years.

(b) For purposes of this section, “officers holding an election or conducting a canvass” include, but are not limited to, the Secretary of State as the chief elections officer, and their staff, as it relates to performance of any of their duties related to administering the provisions of the Elections Code, and elections officials and their staff, including temporary workers and poll workers, and members of a precinct board, in their performance of any duty related to assisting with holding an election or conducting a canvass.

(c) For purposes of this section, “holding an election or conducting a canvass” includes, but is not limited to, the election observation process governed by the Elections Code and applicable regulations adopted by the Secretary of State.

(d) For purposes of this section, “voting at an election” includes, but is not limited to, voting in person at a polling place, the office of the elections official, and satellite locations, and voting by mail and returning a voted ballot pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 3017.

(Amended by Stats. 2025, Ch. 296, Sec. 6. (AB 1249) Effective January 1, 2026.)