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HomeGovernment CodeDiv. 1Ch. 3Art. 2§ 23321 County Formation Petition Requirements

§ 23321 County Formation Petition Requirements

Government Code·California
AI Summary·Official Text·Key Terms·Related Statutes·References
AI SummaryVerified

§ 23321 County Formation Petition Requirements

Key Takeaways

  • •If a new county wants to be created and has a small population (less than 5% of the affected counties), at least 25% of the voters in the new county and 10% of the voters in the rest of the affected counties must sign a petition.
  • •If the new county has a bigger population (5% or more of the affected counties), only 25% of the voters in the new county need to sign the petition.
  • •When signing the petition, voters must write down their county, home address, and the date they signed.

Example

A group of people in a small town want to create a new county. The town has 1,000 voters, and the rest of the affected counties have 20,000 voters.

Since the new county's population is small (less than 5% of the total), at least 250 voters from the new county (25% of 1,000) and 2,000 voters from the rest of the affected counties (10% of 20,000) must sign the petition to start the process.

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

Official Source
View on CA.gov

§ 23321 County Formation Petition Requirements

(a) Where the population of the proposed county is less than 5 percent of the total population of the affected counties, a petition initiating proceedings shall be signed by qualified electors residing within the territory of the proposed county as described in the petition equaling in number not less than 25 percent of the number of electors of the territory of the proposed county registered within the territory on the date of the last preceding gubernatorial election and by not less than 10 percent of the electors registered within the balance of the affected counties on the date of the last preceding gubernatorial election. (b) Where the population of the proposed county is 5 percent or more of the total population of the affected counties, a petition initiating proceedings shall be signed by qualified electors residing within the territory of the proposed county as described in the petition equaling in number not less than 25 percent of the number of electors of the territory of the proposed county registered within the territory on the date of the last preceding gubernatorial election. Each elector, after signing a petition, shall add the name of the county in which the elector resides, the elector’s place of residence, giving a street and number or a designation sufficient to enable the place of residence to be readily ascertained, and the date the elector signed the petition. (Amended by Stats. 1977, Ch. 1175.)

Last verified: January 22, 2026

Key Terms

petitionpopulationelectionresidencedesignation

Related Statutes

  • § 23511 County Petition Signer Requirements
  • § 23320 County Formation Petition Requirements
  • § 23330.5 County Boundary Petition Limits
  • § 20309 Retirement Plan Coverage Election
  • § 20309.7 School Employee Retirement Credits

References

  • Official text at leginfo.legislature.ca.gov
  • California Legislature. Government Code. Section 23321.
View Official Source