State Laws
Confidential Voter Registration information is restricted by the following laws and regulations of the state of California
STATE OF CALIFORNIA GOVERNMENT CODE 6254.4
6254.4. (a) The home address, telephone number, e-mail address, precinct number, or other number specified by the Secretary of State for voter registration purposes, and prior registration information shown on the voter registration card for all registered voters is confidential, and shall not be disclosed to any person, except pursuant to Section 2194 of the Elections Code. (b) For purposes of this section, "home address" means street address only, and does not include an individual's city or post office address. (c) The California driver's license number, the California identification card number, the social security number, and any other unique identifier used by the State of California for purposes of voter identification shown on a voter registration card of a registered voter, or added to the voter registration records to comply with the requirements of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (P.L. 107-252), are confidential and shall not be disclosed to any person.
CALIFORNIA ELECTIONS CODES 2194, 2195, 18109, AND 18110
2194. (a) The voter registration card information identified in subdivision (a) of Section 6254.4 of the Government Code: (1) Shall be confidential and shall not appear on any computer terminal, list, affidavit, duplicate affidavit, or other medium routinely available to the public at the county elections official's office. (2) Shall be provided with respect to any voter, subject to the provisions of Section 2188, to any candidate for federal, state, or local office, to any committee for or against any initiative or referendum measure for which legal publication is made, and to any person for election, scholarly, journalistic, or political purposes, or for governmental purposes, as determined by the Secretary of State. (b) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the California driver's license number, the California identification card number, the social security number, and any other unique identifier used by the State of California for purposes of voter identification shown on a voter registration card of a registered voter, or added to voter registration records to comply with the requirements of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (P.L. 107-252), are confidential and shall not be disclosed to any person. (c) The home address of any voter shall be released whenever the person's vote is challenged pursuant to Sections 15105 to 15108, inclusive, or 14240 to 14253, inclusive. The address shall be released only to the challenger, to elections officials, and to other persons as necessary to make, defend against, or adjudicate the challenge. (d) A governmental entity, or officer or employee thereof, may not be held civilly liable as a result of disclosure of the information referred to in this section, unless by a showing of gross negligence or willfulness.
2195. (a) The Secretary of State shall appoint a task force of seven members who have experience in campaigns, administration of elections, public interest organizations, law enforcement, and other relevant backgrounds to study and recommend to the Secretary of State appropriate standards applicable for safeguarding voter file information in view of the different database formats and security procedures used by the various counties. The task force shall file its report with the Secretary of State and the Legislature no later than January 1, 2004. (b) The Secretary of State shall adopt uniform guidelines based upon the recommendations in the report filed by the task force pursuant to subdivision (a) not later than January 1, 2005. (c) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2005, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2005, deletes or extends that date.
18109. (a) It is a misdemeanor for any person in possession of information obtained pursuant to Article 5 (commencing with Section 2180) of Chapter 2 of Division 2, or Section 6254.4 of the Government Code, knowingly to use or permit the use of all or any part of that information for any purpose other than as permitted by law. (b) It is a misdemeanor for any person knowingly to acquire possession or use of voter registration information referred to in subdivision (a) without first complying with Section 2188.
18110. (a) For purposes of this section, "home address" means only street address and does not include an individual's city or post office address. (b) Any person or public entity who, in violation of Section 2194, discloses the home address or telephone number listed on a voter registration card of any of the following individuals is guilty of a misdemeanor: (1) An active or retired peace officer, as defined in Chapter 4.5 (commencing with Section 830) of Title 3 of Part 2 of the Penal Code. (2) An employee of a city police department or a county sheriff's office. (3) The spouse or children of the individuals specified in paragraphs (1) and (2) who live with those individuals. (c) Any person or public entity, who in violation of Section 2194, discloses the home address or telephone number listed on a voter registration card of any individual specified in paragraph (1), (2), or (3) of subdivision (b), and that violation results in bodily injury to any of those individuals, is guilty of a felony.
CALIFORNIA CODE OF REGULATIONS 19003, 19004 AND 19007
19003. Permissible Uses. Permissible uses of information obtained from a source agency shall include, but not be limited to, the following: (a) Using registration information for purposes of communicating with voters in connection with any election. (b) Sending communications, including but not limited to, mailings which campaign for or against any candidate or ballot measure in any election. (c) Sending communications, including but not limited to, mailings by or in behalf of any political party; provided however, that the content of such communications shall be devoted to news and opinions of candidates, elections, political party developments and related matters. (d) Sending communications, including but not limited to, mailings, incidental to the circulation or support of, or opposition to any recall, initiative, or referendum petition. (e) Sending of newsletters or bulletins by any elected public official, political party or candidate for public office. (f) Conducting any survey of voters in connection with any election campaign. (g) Conducting any survey of opinions of voters by any government agency, political party, elected official or political candidate for election or governmental purposes. (h) Conducting an audit of voter registration lists for the purpose of detecting voter registration fraud. (i) Soliciting contributions or services as part of any election campaign on behalf of any candidate for public office or any political party or in support of or opposition to any ballot measure. (j) Any official use by any local, state, or federal governmental agency.
19004. Impermissible Uses. The following uses of registration information obtained from a source agency shall be deemed other than for election and governmental purposes: (a) Any communication or other use solely or partially for commercial purpose. (b) Solicitation of contributions or services for any purpose other than on behalf of a candidate or political party or in support of or opposition to a ballot measure. (c) Conducting any survey of opinions of voters other than those permitted by section 19003 (f) and (g).
19007. Penalties Every person, who directly or indirectly obtains registration information from a source agency, shall be liable to the State of California, as a penalty for any use of said registration information which is not authorized by section 607 of the Elections Code and the regulations promulgated pursuant thereto, for an amount equal to the sum of $.50 multiplied by the number of registration records which such person used in an unauthorized manner. Unauthorized use by any applicant of any portion of the information obtained pursuant to this Chapter shall raise a presumption that all such information obtained by such application was so misused. Illustration: X Data Corp. obtains registration information from a source agency and uses this information to address a commercial mailing to 10,000 voters. Under this provision of this section, X Data Corp. is obligated to pay the State of California the sum of $5000.00, which constitutes the sum of $.50 multiplied by 10,000, the number of registration records which were used in an unauthorized manner.