California Code, Government Code - GOV § 53755.5

(1) On the face of the envelope in which the notice of election and ballot are mailed, there shall appear in substantially the following form in no smaller than 16-point bold type: “OFFICIAL BALLOT ENCLOSED.” Below that, an agency may repeat the phrase “OFFICIAL BALLOT ENCLOSED” in a language or languages other than English.

(2) The ballot shall include the agency's address for return of the ballot, the date and location where the ballots will be tabulated, and a place where the person returning it may indicate the person's name, a reasonable identification of the parcel, and the person's support or opposition to the proposed fee. The ballots shall be tabulated in a location accessible to the public. The ballot shall be in a form that conceals its content once it is sealed by the person submitting it. The ballot shall remain sealed until the ballot tabulation pursuant to paragraph (3) commences.

(3) An impartial person designated by the agency who does not have a vested interest in the outcome of the proposed fee shall tabulate the ballots submitted in support of or opposition to the proposed fee. For the purposes of this section, an impartial person includes, but is not limited to, the clerk of the agency. If the agency uses agency personnel for the ballot tabulation, or if the agency contracts with a vendor for the ballot tabulation and the vendor or its affiliates participated in the research, design, engineering, public education, or promotion of the fee, the ballots shall be unsealed and tabulated in public view to permit all interested persons to meaningfully monitor the accuracy of the tabulation process.

(4) The ballot tabulation may be continued to a different time or different location accessible to the public, provided that the time and location are announced at the location at which the tabulation commenced and posted by the agency in a location accessible to the public. The impartial person may use technological methods to tabulate the ballots, including, but not limited to, punchcard or optically readable (bar-coded) ballots. During and after the tabulation, the ballots and, if applicable, the information used to determine the weight of each ballot, shall be treated as public records, as defined in Section 7920.530, subject to public disclosure and made available for inspection by any interested person. The ballots shall be preserved for a minimum of two years, after which they may be destroyed as provided in Sections 26202, 34090, and 60201.