The CalPERS Board of Administration
Election Process
Recently, comments have been raised about the current CalPERS Board of Administration
(Board) election process. The process and three voting methods now used — paper ballot,
online and phone — are legal and adhere to all applicable state laws and regulations.
Here are some key facts.

The CalPERS Board’s authority over the election of Board members is set forth in California law.

The California Constitution and the Public Employees’ Retirement Law (PERL) authorize and
require the Board to develop and implement procedures for the election of its members.
Neither the California Constitution nor the PERL require CalPERS elections procedures comply
with California public elections law.
Government Code section 20096, provides as follows:
“The board shall cause ballots to be distributed to each active and retired member of the system in advance
of each election, and shall provide for the return of the voted ballots to the board without cost to the
member, and shall develop election procedures.”
The California Constitution includes special protections for all public retirement boards that contain
employee representation, limiting the extent to which the Legislature may alter their method of
selection. Specifically, article XVI, section 17, subdivision (f), of the California Constitution was
amended by Proposition 162 to provide in part as follows:
“With regard to the retirement board of a public pension or retirement system which includes in its
composition elected employee members, the number, terms, and method of selection or removal of
members of the retirement board which were required by law or otherwise in effect on July 1, 1991, shall
not be changed, amended, or modified by the Legislature unless the change, amendment, or modification
enacted by the Legislature is ratified by a majority vote of the electors of the jurisdiction in which the
participants of the system are or were, prior to retirement, employed.”
In 2003, the California Court of Appeal denied a challenge to the Board’s authority to enact election
regulations under section 20096 and article XVI, section 17, subdivision (f). The court confirmed
that “[t]he Legislature chose an election under the Board’s supervision and procedural regulation
as the method of selecting employee members to the Board. This was the method of selection in
effect as of July 1, 1991. Section 17(f) subjects the Legislature’s power to change this method of
selecting Board members to a vote by the electorate.” (California State Employees Ass’n v. California
Pub. Employees’ Ret. Sys. Bd. of Admin. (2003) 113 Cal. App. 4th 137, 144.)

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 The election and the election results are certified by the California Secretary of State.

Government Code section 20096 states: “The results shall be certified by the Secretary of State.”
On March 14, 2016, Steve J. Reyes, Chief Counsel for the California Secretary of State, approved
the Certification of Election language continuing its certification of all CalPERS Board of
Administration elections results.
The Board approved the 2017 voting process.

On November 17, 2016, the Office of Administrative Law approved the changes in the Board’s
election procedures after they moved through the public regulatory process.
On February 14, 2017, the Finance and Administration Committee (FAC) approved the
2017 Member-at-Large Notice of Election instructing that paper, online, and telephone ballots
be tabulated on October 2, 2017. The full Board approved the FAC’s action on February 15, 2017.
California law allows CalPERS to offer electronic voting.

Section 554.7 of the California Code of Regulations, provides:
“CalPERS will allow online and telephone voting. Voters submitting an online or telephone vote are required
to enter a pin number provided by CalPERS, and a unique identification number, and agree to electronically
certify under penalty of perjury that the voter is eligible to vote in the election; otherwise the online or
telephone vote shall not be valid.”
We protect the privacy of the voter no matter which method is used.

CalPERS does not administer the voting process.
CalPERS has contracted with Integrity Voting Systems (IVS)/Everyone Counts to provide products
and services for Board elections. IVS/Everyone Counts’ clients include, among others, the State of
Alabama, State of Colorado, and the State of New Jersey, State of Utah. It also has administered
successful online pilot voting initiatives for the City of Los Angeles, as well as a pilot program for
West Virginia that allowed military and overseas voters to cast their ballots online. The company
has facilitated electronic voting programs in over 100 countries.
IVS/Everyone Counts’ ballot facility has been certified by the California Secretary of State.
IVS/Everyone Counts uses proprietary software called eLect that utilizes a centralized voter list to
ensure that each voter only casts the appropriate number of ballots. Once a member has successfully
cast his or her ballot by mail, online, or by telephone, they are marked on the voters list as having
participated in the election and are forbidden further access to the system.
The first ballot received is the only vote that counts for the voter.
If both a paper and digital (online/telephone) ballot have been submitted, the duplicate ballot is
rejected based on the time stamp of the first ballot received.
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 All votes cast and ballots completed are transmitted directly to the IVS/Everyone Counts.
IVS/Everyone Counts will not disclose any voter’s vote nor will it reveal tabulation of the votes
prior to the conclusion of the election.
All votes are kept in confidence by IVS/Everyone Counts to protect the secrecy of the vote.
CalPERS does not have access to individualized election information, preliminary tabulation
numbers (if any), completed ballots, individual votes, or any other election information that
might impact the integrity of the election. CalPERS does not, at any time, know which candidate
a particular voter selected.
IVS/Everyone Counts is required to provide specific information to CalPERS about the voting
only after voting has closed.
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Total eligible voters
Total valid votes
Total valid votes cast for each candidate
Total invalid votes
Total invalid late envelopes received after deadline
Total miscellaneous invalid ballots
Top 20 employers (Total votes received and top percentage of employees who voted)
Voter breakdown by:
—— Age and which voting method used
—— Gender and which voting method used

The barcode has been used for nearly 25 years.

CalPERS Board elections began using a barcode system in 1994 in that year’s Public Agency
election. The bar code ensures that no more than one vote is cast per eligible voter.
Our contract with IVS/Everyone Counts states that all barcode and PIN numbers used must
be generated randomly and must not reflect any personal data about any individual voter or
information about CalPERS Identification Numbers.
Placement of voter signature on ballot is in accordance with California law.

California law authorizes and requires the Board to adopt regulations for the distribution of ballots and
procedures of the election, among other things. (Government Code section 20096; California
Constitution, article XVI, section 17(f).) The Board’s lawfully adopted election regulations are set forth
in Code of Regulations, title 2, section 554 et seq. Section 554.7 of the election regulations expressly
provides that “the ballot shall be signed by the voter certifying under penalty of perjury that the voter
is eligible to vote in the election; otherwise the paper ballot shall not be valid.” Therefore, the
placement of the voter signature line on the ballot is in accordance with existing law.

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 California law details the proper handling of ballots, and digital information is protected at all times.

Section 554.7 of the California Code of Regulations, was revised in January 2017. It provides:
“Paper marked ballots shall be returned to the location designated by CalPERS in the postage paid return
envelope provided by CalPERS, or another comparable envelope, and the ballot shall be signed by the
voter certifying under penalty of perjury that the voter is eligible to vote in the election; otherwise the
paper ballot shall not be valid.”
Paper ballots are placed in a secured caged storage area that meets the requirements of the
California Secretary of State for manufacturers of ballots. A representative of the California
Secretary of State conducts a biannual inspection of the storage site for compliance with
California security requirements.
Paper ballots that have been tabulated are boxed and sealed with permanent security tape and
stored in a secured warehouse. All materials are shipped to California State Archives, where
they will be stored for two years before being destroyed.
Online / Telephone Security

IVS/Everyone Counts data center uses enterprise-grade hardware and encryption security
procedures housed in highly secure and accredited data center facilities.
Data centers adhere to the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s guidelines for
encryption, threat modeling, physical server security, and tamper detection monitoring.
IVS/Everyone Counts technologies, procedures, and infrastructure have received accreditations
from the United States Department of Defense.
The public can view the ballot process at IVS/Everyone County’s facility.

Public viewing is allowed Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. PST, from
September 1, 2017, to October 2, 2017.
The facility is located at 7720 Hardeson Road, Suite A, Everett, WA 98203

September 2017   2017.9.1

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