§ 18102 Fraudulent Voter Registration Penalties

Elections Code·California

AI SummaryVerified

This law says that anyone who works on voter registration can't knowingly add a fake person, use a false name or address, or register someone who isn’t allowed to vote, or they can go to jail.

Key Takeaways

•Election officials must check that a person really exists before registering them.
•They cannot use a false name, address, or register someone who is not eligible to vote.
•If they do it on purpose, they can be sentenced to state prison (up to 3 years) or county jail (up to 1 year).

Example

A city clerk puts a made‑up name on the voter list to boost the number of voters for a candidate.

Because the clerk knew the person didn’t exist, the law says the clerk can be sentenced to state prison for up to 16 months to three years, or up to one year in a county jail.

AI-generated — May contain errors. Not legal advice. Always verify source.

Official Source

View on CA.gov

§ 18102 Fraudulent Voter Registration Penalties

Any deputy elections official or registration elections official who knowingly registers a nonexistent person, knowingly registers a person under a false name or address, or knowingly registers a person who is ineligible to register is punishable by imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170 of the Penal Code for 16 months or two or three years, or in a county jail for not more than one year. (Amended by Stats. 2011, Ch. 15, Sec. 60. (AB 109) Effective April 4, 2011. Operative October 1, 2011, by Sec. 636 of Ch. 15, as amended by Stats. 2011, Ch. 39, Sec. 68.)

Last verified: January 10, 2026

Key Terms

deputy elections official registration elections official knowingly registers nonexistent person false name or address ineligible to register

References

Official text at leginfo.legislature.ca.gov
California Legislature. Elections Code. Section 18102.

§ 18102 Fraudulent Voter Registration Penalties

Elections Code·California

AI SummaryVerified

§ 18102 Fraudulent Voter Registration Penalties

This law says that anyone who works on voter registration can't knowingly add a fake person, use a false name or address, or register someone who isn’t allowed to vote, or they can go to jail.

Key Takeaways

•Election officials must check that a person really exists before registering them.
•They cannot use a false name, address, or register someone who is not eligible to vote.
•If they do it on purpose, they can be sentenced to state prison (up to 3 years) or county jail (up to 1 year).

Example

A city clerk puts a made‑up name on the voter list to boost the number of voters for a candidate.

Because the clerk knew the person didn’t exist, the law says the clerk can be sentenced to state prison for up to 16 months to three years, or up to one year in a county jail.

AI-generated — May contain errors. Not legal advice. Always verify source.

Official Source

View on CA.gov

§ 18102 Fraudulent Voter Registration Penalties

Last verified: January 10, 2026

Key Terms

deputy elections official registration elections official knowingly registers nonexistent person false name or address ineligible to register

References

Official text at leginfo.legislature.ca.gov
California Legislature. Elections Code. Section 18102.

Key Takeaways

Example

Key Terms

Related Statutes

References

Key Takeaways

Example

Key Terms

Related Statutes

References