Section 3019.

Upon receipt of the vote by mail ballot the elections official shall compare the signature on the envelope with that appearing on the affidavit of registration and, if they compare, deposit the ballot, still in the identification envelope, in a ballot container in his or her office. A variation of the signature caused by the substitution of initials for the first or middle name, or both, shall not invalidate the ballot. If the ballot is rejected because the signatures do not compare, the envelope shall not be opened and the ballot shall not be counted. The cause of the rejection shall be written on the face of the identification envelope.

If the elections official has compared the signature of the voter's application with the affidavit pursuant to Section 3009, the application may be used rather than the affidavit to make the signature check required by this section.

No ballot shall be removed from its identification envelope until the time for processing. No ballot shall be rejected for cause after the envelope has been opened.

In determining from the records of registration if the signature and residence address on the identification envelope appear to be the same as that on the affidavit of registration, the elections official or registrar of voters may use the duplicate file of affidavits of registered voters or the facsimiles of voters' signatures, provided that the method of preparing and displaying the facsimiles complies with the law.

(Amended by Stats. 2007, Ch. 508, Sec. 32. Effective January 1, 2008.)