Assembly BillChaptered/SignedElections
AB 1610: Elections: notice.
What AB 1610 does, verified September 29, 2026
<blockquote> The bill amends California's elections code to enhance voter notification processes. It requires county elections officials to take additional steps when U.S. Postal Service data indicates a discrepancy between a voter’s residence and mailing addresses, where the mailing address is no longer valid. If a new mailing address is available through change-of-address data, the official must update the registration record and send a forwardable notice to confirm the change. If not, and if the voter can receive mail at their physical residence, officials are required to notify the voter’s physical address and remove the invalid mailing address from records. Alternatively, if no new address is found and the voter cannot be reached by mail, a specified notice must be sent to the outdated mailing address on file. </blockquote>
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Last action: Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 532, Statutes of 2026. (2026-09-27)Alert me
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| Sep. 27, 2026 | Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 532, Statutes of 2026. |
| Sep. 27, 2026 | Approved by the Governor. |
| Aug. 27, 2026 | Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 4 p.m. |
| Aug. 20, 2026 | In Assembly. Ordered to Engrossing and Enrolling. |
| Aug. 20, 2026 | Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Assembly. (Ayes 39. Noes 0.). |
Latest bill textChaptered version, September 27, 2026 · 1,160 words
Assembly Bill No. 1610
CHAPTER 532
An act to amend Section 2225 of the Elections Code, relating to elections.
[ Approved by Governor September 27, 2026. Filed with Secretary of State September 27, 2026. ]
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1610, Ransom. Elections: notice.
Existing law requires a county elections official to take various actions to confirm voters’ residency, including by, among other things, mailing a postcard to each registered voter of the county or obtaining change-of-address data from the United States Postal Service. If the postcard is returned by the post office as undeliverable and the voter has no forwarding address, or if the change-of-address data indicates that the voter has moved and left no forwarding address, existing law requires the county elections official to update the voter’s registration status to inactive and mail notice to the voter of that change.
This bill would require a county elections official to take the following additional steps to provide notice to a voter when United States Postal Service data indicates a voter has a mailing address that is different from the voter’s residence address and the mailing address is no longer valid: 1) if a new mailing address is available via change-of-address data, the elections official would be required to update the voter’s registration record with the new mailing address and send a forwardable notice to the new address to confirm the change; 2) if a new mailing address is not identified and the voter can receive mail at their physical residence, the elections official would be required to send notice to the voter’s physical residence and remove the invalid mailing address from the record; or, 3) if a new mailing address is not identified and the voter cannot receive mail at their physical residence, the elections official would be required to send a specified notice to the voter’s mailing address on the voter’s registration record.
By increasing the duties of county elections officials, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
Section 2225 of the Elections Code is amended to read:2225.
(a) (1) Based on change-of-address data received from the United States Postal Service or its licensees, the county elections official shall send a forwardable notice, including a postage-paid and preaddressed return form, to enable the voter to verify or correct address information.(2) If notification received through NCOA or Operation Mail or a returned mailing indicates that a voter has moved and has given no forwarding address or indicates that a voter has moved out of the state, the county elections official shall send a forwardable notice in substantially the same format as the notice set forth in Section 20507(d)(2) of Title 52 of the United States Code.
(b) (1) If postal service change-of-address data indicates that the voter has moved to a new residence address in California, or if a voter’s mailing address is no longer valid as described in subparagraph (A) or (B) of paragraph (2), the forwardable notice shall be in substantially one of the two following forms:
(A) If the voter’s residence address changed:
“We have received notification that you have moved to a new residence address in California. Your voter registration record has been updated to this new address. If this is correct, you do not have to take any action. If this is incorrect, you can notify our office by either returning the attached postage-paid postcard, or by calling toll free; you must notify us at least 15 days prior to the next election or you may be required to vote using a provisional ballot.”
(B) If the voter’s mailing address changed:
“We have received notification that your mailing address is no longer valid. Your mailing address has been updated. If this is correct, you do not have to take any action. If this is incorrect, you can notify our office by either returning the attached postage-paid postcard or by calling toll-free; you must notify us at least 15 days prior to the next election, or you may be required to vote using a provisional ballot.”
(2) If a voter has a mailing address different from their residence address, and postal service change-of-address data indicates that the voter’s mailing address is no longer valid, the county elections official shall take one of the following steps:
(A) If a new mailing address is provided, the county elections official shall send the forwardable notice described in paragraph (1) to the voter’s new mailing address and update the voter’s registration record to add the new mailing address.
(B) If a new mailing address is not provided and the voter lives in an area where the voter can receive mail at their residence address, the county elections official shall send the forwardable notice described in paragraph (1) to the voter’s residence address and update the voter’s registration record to remove the mailing address that is no longer valid.
(C) If a new mailing address is not provided and the voter lives in an area where the voter cannot receive mail at their residence address, the county elections official shall send a forwardable notice in substantially the same format as the notice set forth in Section 20507(d)(2) of Title 52 of the United States Code.
(c) If postal service change-of-address data received from a nonforwardable mailing indicates that a voter has moved and left no forwarding address or indicates that a voter has moved out of the state, a forwardable notice shall be sent in substantially the same format as the notice set forth in Section 20507(d)(2) of Title 52 of the United States Code.
(d) The use of a toll-free number to confirm the old residence address is optional. Any change to the voter address must be received in writing.
(e) Upon the mailing of the forwardable address confirmation notice described in paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) to a voter, the county elections official shall not update the status of the voter’s registration to inactive.
(f) Upon the mailing of the forwardable address confirmation notice described in subdivision (c) or subparagraph (C) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) to a voter, the county elections official shall update the status of the voter’s registration to inactive.
SEC. 2.
If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.Text of AB 1610 as chaptered, from the official record. Connect Plus keeps every version and highlights what changed.Compare versions