CA SB409

Secretary of State must establish a pilot program by January 1, 2026 allowing candidates qualified to place statements in the state ballot pamphlet to include a QR code link to a video statement, provided the video wording is identical to the approved written statement.

Secretary of State shall collaborate with 1 to 4 geographically diverse county elections offices to establish similar county-level pilot programs allowing candidates to include QR code links to video statements in sample ballots.

Candidate video statements are limited to 250 words, must use a blank wall background, cannot include props, slogans, or references to opponents, and must be filmed in MP4, MOV, or AVI format.

Participating counties must report to the Secretary of State on candidate participation rates, voter access statistics, implementation costs, and any benefits or problems encountered by the first May 1 following pilot program implementation.

Secretary of State must submit annual reports to the Legislature beginning January 1 after the second year of implementation, including candidate participation data, voter engagement metrics, costs, and a compilation of all county pilot program results; pilot program expires four years after becoming operative.