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 April 2026
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The CARS Project has begun the acceptance process for Program Increment 2, bringing the project closer to its planned go-live date. The expectation is that system filers and public users will realize tremendous time savings and ease of use benefits from CARS. By completing Program Increments 1 and 2, the prime vendor has completed the development effort for approximately 72% of the CARS requirements.
System acceptance doesn’t happen without extensive testing. Software testing is a huge undertaking for a system like CARS. Several types of testing are required to work out any “bugs”. This month’s feature article introduces the types of testing used before the system is released to the public.
CARS Testing Program
In the hybrid Agile method of delivering CARS, software development takes place incrementally and testing activities contribute significantly to determining if CARS is a stable, well-functioning system. Testing occurs at many levels, conducted by developers, technical staff, independent organizations, users, and third-party software vendors.
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Developer testing – The prime vendor performs thorough testing in the following categories:
- Component test – Developers unit test their own code at the component level.
- System test – Test functional requirements, data flow, and security.
- Technical team test – Test disaster recovery capability, availability, and data integrity.
- Regression test – Ensure new releases do not introduce bugs in previously delivered code.
- Usability test – Assess the application’s operability on various devices.
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Accessibility and security testing – External testing organizations verify the system’s compliance with accessibility regulations and test the security of CARS.
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Interface testing – The third-party software vendors test interfaces for uploading data and test updates to their own software that submits data to CARS.
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User Acceptance Testing (UAT) – UAT is conducted by the Political Reform Division (PRD) and Information Technology Division staff. An extensive set of test scripts are executed to exercise different scenarios of interactivity with the CARS user interface.
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External Stakeholder User Testing – Twenty-two external stakeholders volunteered to help with this stage of testing, as discussed in the March 2026 newsletter. The CARS testing coordinator provided each tester with basic system training and assigned each tester to a PRD mentor who provided guidance about the system. Each external user tester was instructed to navigate through the system and try out the CARS filer portal, looking specifically at the lobbying or campaign registration and disclosure filings they expect to use when the system goes live. The system is not yet completely developed, so this iteration of testing was a bit of a challenge because it included the ability to test only the portions of the system that have been developed.
The first week of user testing ended on Friday, March 27 and the second week of testing ended on April 3. All testers were asked to complete a survey and share their experiences. The project thanks all the testers who were willing to work through this testing process. Your input will be used to update the user documentation and will make the next iteration of testing more efficient.
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Reminder: To take advantage of CARS, you MUST create a user account with your own unique email address. Shared email addresses are not permitted.
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Note that when CARS goes live, you will be able to link your new CARS User ID with your legacy Filer ID, password, and files.
Please take a few minutes to confirm in CAL-ACCESS that your correct email address is listed. This simple action will help transition your account from CAL-ACCESS to CARS.
To further this preparation for the CARS go-live activity, PRD will soon mail postcards to the physical address of any CAL-ACCESS user not having an email address listed in the system. The postcard mailing is a call to action with two requests:
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Sign up for updates about CARS.
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If needed, file an amendment to provide a valid email address or correct the email address we currently have on file in CAL-ACCESS.
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CARS Monthly External Stakeholder Meetings – Meetings are held on the second Wednesday of each month and are meant to keep stakeholders informed about the progress of the CARS project. Questions are answered, a project status is provided, and recently completed functionality is demonstrated. The next meeting is scheduled for April 8 from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m.
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Program Increment 2 – The acceptance process is underway, the team is engaged in testing, and acceptance is expected by April 9.
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Program Increment 3 – This increment includes functions for various fees and fines, two portals - the Filer and PRD portals, user account management features, correspondence, report generation, and online help.
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Program Increment 4 – Development for Program Increment 4 began on March 4 and includes features for the CARS public portal, the ability to search and view data, and managing reports.
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Third-Party Software Vendors – Development continues for the application program interfaces to submit data for 32 filing types. The software vendors who choose to certify in CARS have scheduled their respective testing dates.
The project team meets with the third-party software vendors twice monthly, on the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month, from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. The next meetings are scheduled for April 14 and April 28.
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External Stakeholder User Testing – Testing is scheduled from March 23 through April 3.
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Reminder: To take advantage of CARS, you MUST create a user account with your own unique email address. Shared email addresses are not permitted.
- Note that when CARS goes live, you will be able to link your new CARS User ID with your legacy Filer ID, password, and files.
Please take a few minutes to confirm in CAL-ACCESS that your correct email address is listed. This simple action will help transition your account from CAL-ACCESS to CARS.
To further this preparation for the CARS go-live activity, PRD will soon mail postcards to the physical address of any CAL-ACCESS user not having an email address listed in the system. The postcard is a call to action with two requests related to ensuring a valid email address is on file before go-live in November (see postcard below).
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What changes will CARS bring to the form numbers currently used by filing entities?
In CARS, the use of form numbers has been eliminated, instead transitioning to simple, plain language descriptions of lobbying and campaign registration and disclosure filing types. Additionally, some of the existing forms require the input of duplicative information. Whenever possible, the project combined these duplicative data input requirements into a single CARS workflow to simplify the data entry process. The table below outlines these changes (descriptions are not final).
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Form 400 / 402 – Slate Mailer Organization (SMO)
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SMO New Registration / Amend/Terminate Registration
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New SMO Campaign Statement
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New Recipient Committee Campaign Report / Amend Report
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New Independent Expenditure Committee and Major Donor Committee Campaign Statement / Amend Statement
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24-hour/10-Day Independent Expenditure Report
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Candidate Intention Statement / Amend Registration
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Business Entity Online Search Report
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Form 601 / 605 / 606 / 607
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Lobbying Firm, Lobbyist Employer, Lobbying Coalition Registration / Amend Registration
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Client Authorization, Subcontracting Firm Authorization
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Lobbyist Employer, Lobbying Coalition Registration / Amend Registration
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Lobbyist Registration / Amend Registration
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Lobbying Firm Report / Lobbyist Employer Report / Lobbying Coalition Report / Amend Report
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Lobbying Firm Report / Amend Report
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Payments made to Lobbying Coalitions
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Form 630 / 635 / 635-C / 640 / 690
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Lobbyist Employer Report, Lobbying Coalition Report / Amend Report
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New Report of $5000 Filer
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What would you like to see included in the next CARS Stakeholder Bulletin issue? Email PRDCARS@SOS.CA.GOV to provide your ideas and feedback.
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The CARS Project Monthly External Stakeholder Meeting Series (MS Teams), PowerPoint Presentations, Q&As, FAQs and additional information may be found on the CARS Homepage.
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