(a) The county elections official shall make a copy of the materials referred to in Sections 9119, 9120, 9160, 9162, and 9167 available for public examination in the county elections official’s office for a period of 10 calendar days immediately following the deadline for submission of those materials. Any person may obtain a copy of the materials from the county elections official for use outside of the county elections official’s office. The county elections official may charge a fee to any person obtaining a copy of the material. The fee may not exceed the actual cost incurred by the county elections official in providing the copy.

(b) (1) During the 10-calendar-day public examination period provided by this section, any voter of the jurisdiction in which the election is being held, or the county elections official, himself or herself, may seek a writ of mandate or an injunction requiring any or all of the materials to be amended or deleted. The writ of mandate or injunction request shall be filed no later than the end of the 10-calendar-day public examination period.

(2) A peremptory writ of mandate or an injunction shall be issued only upon clear and convincing proof that the material in question is false, misleading, or inconsistent with this chapter, and that issuance of the writ or injunction will not substantially interfere with the printing or distribution of official election materials as provided by law.

(3) The county elections official shall be named as respondent and the person or official who authored the material in question shall be named as real parties in interest. In the case of the county elections official bringing the mandamus or injunctive action, the board of supervisors of the county shall be named as the respondent and the person or official who authored the material in question shall be named as the real party in interest.

(Amended by Stats. 2002, Ch. 228, Sec. 4. Effective January 1, 2003.)