SB 2299

As of January 1, 2027, this bill requires the secretary of state, in coordination with the coordinator of elections and all county election commissions, to create and maintain a publicly accessible, nonpartisan online candidate information page for each local, state, and federal election. Each page must include for every candidate appearing on the ballot for that election (i) t he candidate's name as it appears on the ballot; ( ii ) a candidate-submitted photograph; ( iii ) a link to the candidate's website, if any, and the candidate's contact information; and ( iv ) t he candidate's party affiliation, if any. This bill requires t he candidate information pages to be hosted on, or directly accessible through, the secretary of state's election information website and any applications or portals maintained by the secretary of state through which voters may seek voting information. The secretary of state must ensure that the candidate information pages (i) a re searchable by candidate name, office, district, county, or municipality; and (ii) a llow a voter to view candidate information pages for all offices on the vo ter's ballot. County election commission websites must provide direct links to the corresponding candidate information pages for all elections for which the commission is administering the election. Archived candidate information pages must remain publicly accessible for at least one year following the election. This bill requires the secretary of state to establish a secure, statewide candidate submission page for candidates to upload information required pursuant to this bill. However, c andidates are solely responsible for the accuracy of submitted information. The secretary of state must set a deadline for a candidate to submit information that ensures that the candidate information page is publicly available no later than 14 days before early voting for that candidate's election. After such deadline, a cand idate may update submitted information once prior to the beginning of early voting for that election.