ELEC §15270.1: (a) An elections official shall not conduct a manual vote count pursuant to this article or Article 6 (commencing with Section 15290) in any election unless that manual count is conducted pursuant to

(a) An elections official shall not conduct a manual vote count pursuant to this article or Article 6 (commencing with Section 15290) in any election unless that manual count is conducted pursuant to a plan approved by the Secretary of State. A manual count plan shall be consistent with the regulations adopted by the Secretary of State regarding manual vote counts. The Secretary of State shall prepare a template of a manual count plan that an elections official may use to assist in meeting this requirement. (b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), an elections official shall not conduct a manual vote count in an election, and the Secretary of State shall not approve a plan to conduct a manual vote count for that election, if either of the following are true: (1) The election is held on an established election date, as provided in Section 1000, and there are more than 1,000 registered voters who are eligible to participate in that election as of 154 days in advance of the election. (2) The election is held on a date other than an established election date, and there are more than 5,000 registered voters who are eligible to participate in that election as of 154 days in advance of the election.