As used in this Chapter, the following words have the
following meanings:
(a) A "blank
ballot" is a ballot on which the voter has made no marks in any voting position
target.
(b) "Candidate" means a
person who is seeking nomination or election to a specified office and who
either has met the legal requirements to have their name printed on the ballot
or is eligible to have their name written in on the ballot and counted as the
voter's choice for the contest.
(c)
A "damaged ballot" is a ballot that has been torn, bent, or otherwise mutilated
or rendered unreadable such that it cannot be processed by the ballot
tabulating equipment designed for use with the ballot.
(d) A "duplicated ballot" is a ballot which
is a true copy of the originally cast ballot. It is created when damage,
improper marking or some other action/defect prevents the original ballot from
being read by a ballot tabulating machine and is used to properly process and
count the votes originally cast by the voter. A duplicated ballot also is
necessary for a ballot cast using a remote accessible vote-by-mail
ballot.
(e) A "listed candidate" is
a candidate whose name appears on the ballot at the time the voter received the
ballot, as opposed to a write-in candidate.
(f) A "measure" is a ballot proposition,
which appears on a ballot and requires voter action in order to enact or reject
a proposed law.
(g) An "overvote"
occurs when a voter marks more than the maximum number of voting position
targets allowed in the contest.
(h)
"Personal information" shall have the meaning set forth in Elections Code
section 14287.
(i) An "undervote"
occurs when a voter marks less than the maximum number of voting position
targets allowed in a contest.
(j) A
"voting position target" refers to that area of the ballot adjacent to each
candidate or measure, or that area of the ballot, specifically designated to
record the voter's choice for that contest. The term applies to all types of
voting position targets on ballots, regardless of what form they may take,
including, but not limited to, rectangle, oval, circle, square, hole punch,
cross punch, slotting and open arrow.