if california was flirting with mail-in voting before 2020, the covid-19 pandemic performed a forced wedding. To make sure the coronavirus doesn’t exclude people from the November 2020 election, the state legislature passed and Govt. Gavin Newsom signed a measure requiring counties to mail ballots to all registered voters, with no request or application required. the state later extended this requirement until at least 2021.
the ballots for sept. 14 recall elections have already been delivered and voters are beginning to complete and return them. But it’s not too late to get a mail-in ballot if you’re a newly registered voter or live at a new address. here are some tips on how to get, return, and track your ballot.
how does voting by mail work?
County elections officials mail a blank ballot, instructions, and a postage-paid return envelope to each registered voter’s address of record. You’ll fill out the ballot the same way you would in person: two questions are presented and you can answer both or just one.
The first question is whether to impeach newsom, and the second is which candidate should replace him in the event of a successful impeachment. because there are 46 candidates on the list, the options appear on both sides of the ballot. (Note that one of them, former US Rep. Doug Ose, dropped out of the race for health reasons after the ballots were printed.) you can leave either question blank and still count the single vote cast.
You will need to mark the ballot with a blue or black ink pen to ensure it will scan correctly. then you will need to place it in the return envelope, seal it, and sign and date the back in the box marked “voter: sign here.” do not print.”
If you cannot sign the back of the ballot envelope, you will need to have someone over the age of 18 observe you mark in the space provided, and then that person must sign it. some counties, including Los Angeles, also include a space to fill in your address, but ballots will be accepted if the address field is left blank.
You can mail your ballot envelope without stamping, though it must be postmarked by September 1. 14 to count. you can also leave it at 8 p.m. September 14 at an official ballot box or polling place. To find one near you, go to the secretary of state’s elections website. In California, it’s also legal for someone to give you your ballot.
what happens next?
To protect against fraud, county officials will compare your signature on the back of the envelope to one they have on file, usually from your voter registration, driver’s license, or a previous mail-in ballot, so it’s It’s a good idea to sign the envelope the same way you sign an official government document. in the last two state elections, about 1% of mail-in ballots were rejected due to a signature mismatch.
If your envelope is rejected, election officials must notify you within 24 hours and give you the opportunity to resubmit the ballot with a new signature, which you can do up to two days before the results of the polls are certified. elections.
p>
Once the signature on the envelope is verified, the ballots are removed and scanned for counting.
The reason the envelopes have holes is so election officials know when an envelope is empty, which helps prevent an envelope from being discarded after the signature is verified but before the ballot has been removed. Some recall advocates contend that the holes may reveal whether you voted to remove Newsom, suggesting that the governor’s supporters in county election offices may throw those votes in the trash (a felony punishable by up to three years in prison). prison). if this sounds like a real problem, you can insert the ballot into the envelope facing the other way or fold it the other way.
what are the deadlines?
Ballots by mail will be sent to anyone who registers to vote before August 1st. 30. You can still register after that, but you’ll need to cast a conditional vote in person.
If you’ve moved and would like us to mail a ballot to your new address, you have until September 1st. 7 to notify your county elections office of the change.
how do you get notified that your ballot has been received and counted?
The secretary of state’s office has an electronic tracking system that can track your ballot from the time it is mailed to you to the time it is counted. You can sign up at wheresmyballot.sos.ca.gov and specify how you’d like to receive updates: You can choose text, email, and phone calls, as well as specify which language the update should use.
In Los Angeles County, you can also check to see if your ballot was received and your signature verified at lavote.net/av_inquiry.