Tool #1: Start Receiving Your Sample Ballot by Email!

The E-Sample Ballot is an electronic version of your sample ballot that is accessible via email. Subscribe to automatically receive an email containing a link to access your E-Sample Ballot thirty days prior to Election Day, which is October 3. You will have more time to review your ballot and at the same time lift a burden off the post office!

Voters who subscribe to the E-Sample Ballot will no longer receive a hard copy of their sample ballot at their home address. This does not prevent you from using your own printer to print the pages you need to plan your vote. And note the benefits of an E-Sample Ballot:

• You get your sample ballot faster!
• You can access your sample ballot on the go!
• Go green and save printing and shipping costs!

Subscribe to the E-Sample here

Tool #2: Vote-by-Mail (VBM) Ballot Tracking

Under the California Elections Code, a voter who casts a vote-by-mail ballot can find out if the ballot arrived at his or her county elections office (registrar’s office), if the ballot was counted, and, if not, the reason it was not counted. Sign up to track your ballot here to receive an automatic email, SMS (text), or voice call notification about your ballot.

Tool #3: Check Provisional Ballot Status

Every voter who casts a provisional ballot is entitled to find out if the ballot was counted and, if not, the reason it was not counted. Provisional ballot status will be available thirty days after the election. Status may be checked here.

Tool #4: If You Have Been Relocated during COVID

In the September 2020 Voter, we advised voters forced to relocate due to COVID to re-register to vote and to update their mailing address only. The Registrar is now offering a better solution: the “Vote by Mail Temporary Mailing Address” program. This program also helps those unable to return to their homes because of the fires. Learn more here.

The Registrar can send your vote-by-mail ballot to a temporary address for the upcoming presidential election. This is a one-time request and will not permanently change your voter registration. The last day to do this is Tuesday, October 27. Start by checking the mailing address in your voter registration record here.

Note: To permanently change your address, please update your voter registration before the October 19 voter registration deadline here.

Tool #5: Unsigned Ballot Statement—We Can Fix That!

The Registrar will make every effort to count your vote. If the signature on your vote-by-mail return envelope does not match what is in the voter registration database, the Registrar will notify you by mail and ask you to complete and return a Signature Verification Statement. Carefully read the instructions for returning it. You may have the option to drop it off or mail it back. In either case, return it immediately so your ballot can be counted.

Tool #6: Signature Verification Statement—Let’s Fix That!

Did you forget to sign the envelope for your vote by mail ballot? If you returned your vote-by-mail ballot without signing the return envelope, the Registrar will mail you a document called the Unsigned Ballot Statement asking for your signature. Your signature is required to verify your identity before they can process the ballot. You have up to twenty-eight days after Election Day to return the statement for your ballot to be processed. Once again, return it immediately so your ballot can be counted.

Tool #7: Did You Miss the October 19 Voter Registration Deadline? We Can Even Fix That!

Same-day voter registration, known as Conditional Voter Registration in state law, is a safety net for Californians who miss the voter registration deadline. Eligible citizens who need to register or re-register to vote can register and vote on the same day at their county elections office, polling place, or Vote Center starting October 24. Their ballots will be processed and counted once the county elections office has completed the voter registration verification process. Please see Tool #8, “Voting in Person.”

Tool #8: Voting in Person

Should you consider voting in person? YES, if …

• you are registered to vote but do not have a residence or mailing address
• you missed the voting registration deadline of October 19
• you signed up to track your ballot and it has been seven days since the ballot was mailed to you
• you are a registered voter, it is October 31, and you have not received a ballot in the mail

The Registrar has made every effort to ensure that all eligible voters get a chance to vote. Safety measures are in place to make voting as safe as possible. Learn more here, and see the article on tips for in-person voting, also in this issue of the Voter.

Voters can safely vote in person at ANY Vote Center in L.A. County. Select Vote Centers will be open for business beginning on Saturday, October 24. All Vote Centers will be available beginning Friday, October 30, through Election Day, November 3.

But don’t wait for Election Day!

Vote Centers will be open every day from 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. during the early voting period of October 24–November 2. On Election Day, November 3, Vote Centers will be open from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Voting is our right and responsibility if we want democracy to work. Vote early, vote by mail, or vote in person. Whatever you do, VOTE!

—Martha Y. Zavala