Cal. ELEC § 8001
This is the official text of Cal. ELEC § 8001, part of California’s Elections Code — governs how elections are conducted, including voter registration, ballots, and campaign rules.
Not legal advice. This page reproduces the official text of a government statute for reference only. Laws change, and how a statute applies depends on your specific facts. For advice about your situation, consult a licensed attorney in your state.
Official statutory text
(a) A declaration of candidacy for membership on a county central committee shall not be filed by a candidate unless (1) at the time of presentation of the declaration and continuously for not less than three months immediately prior to that time, or for as long as the candidate has been eligible to register to vote in the state, the candidate is shown by the candidate’s affidavit of registration to have expressed a preference for the political party of that committee, and (2) the candidate has not been registered with a preference for a qualified political party other than that political party within 12 months.
(b) The elections official shall attach a certificate to the declaration of candidacy showing the date on which the candidate registered with a preference for the political party of that committee, and indicating that the candidate has not been registered with a preference for any other qualified political party for the period specified in subdivision (a) immediately preceding the filing of the declaration. This section does not apply to a declaration of candidacy filed by a candidate of a political party participating in its first direct primary election subsequent to its qualification as a political party pursuant to Section 5100.
(c) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), a county central committee, subject to the bylaws of the state central committee, may establish the length of time that a candidate for membership on that committee must be shown by the candidate’s affidavit of registration to have expressed a preference for the political party of that committee, and may establish the length of time that a candidate for membership on that committee must not have been registered with a preference for a qualified political party other than the political party of that committee.
(b) The elections official shall attach a certificate to the declaration of candidacy showing the date on which the candidate registered with a preference for the political party of that committee, and indicating that the candidate has not been registered with a preference for any other qualified political party for the period specified in subdivision (a) immediately preceding the filing of the declaration. This section does not apply to a declaration of candidacy filed by a candidate of a political party participating in its first direct primary election subsequent to its qualification as a political party pursuant to Section 5100.
(c) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), a county central committee, subject to the bylaws of the state central committee, may establish the length of time that a candidate for membership on that committee must be shown by the candidate’s affidavit of registration to have expressed a preference for the political party of that committee, and may establish the length of time that a candidate for membership on that committee must not have been registered with a preference for a qualified political party other than the political party of that committee.
Status: in_force · Read it on the official government site
Need a lawyer in California?
Find a California lawyer
About this page: Statute text is reproduced from official government publishers via the
Open US Law dataset
(Vaquill AI, snapshot v2026.08, CC BY 4.0). Primary legislative text like this is public domain under the government-edicts doctrine
(Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 2020). We link every section back to its official source so you can verify it independently.