As early-voting opened up on October 5th, California began sending out mail-in ballots to registered voters. Under an executive order by Governor Newsom on May 8th, voters don’t need to apply for mail-in ballots, they will automatically be sent to all registered voters. This is to ensure a safe, socially distanced voting option.
Mail-in Voting in 2020
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, many states across the country have opted to expand mail-in voting as a socially distanced option for voters. Some states continue to require voters who physically can’t vote in person to apply for an absentee ballot, others have done away with the typical qualifications for absentee voting and allow voters to apply for no-excuse absentee ballots, and a few, including California, have adopted an (mostly) all-mail voting system (Swasey, 2020).
If you’re a registered voter in California, you don’t need to apply for a mail-in ballot, it’ll be mailed to you automatically. Once filled out, your ballot can be brought to a Mail Ballot Drop Off Location, delivered to the Registrar of Voters, or mailed to the return address via USPS, so long as it’s postmarked on or before Election Day and received within 17 days following the election (sbcounty, 2020).
Is It Secure?
President Trump’s claims that universal mail-in voting is “inaccurate and fraudulent” has been the source of a lot of doubt and discourse amongst voters (Christopher, 2020). Many experts, however, have disputed these claims, including California Secretary of State, Alex Padilla, who told the LA Times, “It’s safe, convenient and voting by mail is absolutely secure (Skelton, 2020).” An analysis of vote-by-mail states, conducted by the Electronic Registration Information Center, supports this. They found that instances of fraud made up only 0.0025 percent of the 14.6 million votes cast by mail in 2016 and 2018 (Viebeck, 2020).
To reassure voters, ballots in California will also include a tracking number. Voters can track when their ballot is mailed, received, and counted through https://california.ballottrax.net/voter/. If you didn’t receive a ballot or found that something happened to yours, you can apply for a second ballot by contacting a county election official (California Secretary of State, 2020).
In-Person Voting
For those who for any reason decide to vote in-person, a reduced number of polling places will be open for you to do so from now (early voting), to November 3rd (Election Day). You can find the polling place nearest to you through the following websites.
Specifically for San Bernardino County: https://www.sbcountyelections.com/Voting/PPL/2020/1103.aspx
Registering
If you’re not already registered to vote, you still have time to do so. Normal voter registration can be completed up to 15 days before the election, meaning you have until October 19th to submit your registration online or have it postmarked if by mail (California Secretary of State, 2020). Beyond that point, you must complete the same-day voter registration and request a ballot in-person (California Secretary of State, 2020). If you meet the deadline for normal registration you’ll then be mailed a ballot, which again can be postmarked up until election day and received 17 days following the election, but to ensure your vote will be counted, voters are urged to vote early.
Normal Voter Registration: https://registertovote.ca.gov/ (If you’re 16 or 17 you can also pre-register here)
Ballot Drop-Off Locations to apply for same-day voting: https://caearlyvoting.sos.ca.gov/
What This Means for the 2020 Election
In the past, voters expected the result of the election to be called on election night. Media outlets call each state one by one once there’s a clear winner, and when enough have been called, the election is generally concluded when one candidate concedes and the other declares victory. This is more of a safe projection, however, as not all ballots are counted at this point. This year, mail-in ballots could easily have the power to swing the election, so until they’re properly counted, we won’t have a reliable projection of who the winner is.
There are varying predictions of how long until the election results are announced, but voters should be prepared for it to take weeks. After the initial outbreak of COVID-19, multiple states took over a week to announce the results of their primary elections, and there’s a considerable push for states to withhold any results until they’ve counted a significant number of ballots (Still, 2020). Disputes over ballot legitimacy may also play a role in delaying the results, as President Trump predicts that they may need to be settled in the Supreme Court (BBC, 2020).
In many ways, we’re in virtually uncharted territory this election year, and all the changes may seem daunting, but these are pivotal times. Voting, if you’re eligible to do so, is more important now than ever in determining the future of our country, so I urged all of you to vote if you can and if not, encourage those around you to do so. As a teenager, you may feel disconnected from politics, but the effect it has on all of our lives is more real than you realize.
Works Cited
Christopher, Ben. “California's 2020 (Mostly) All-Mail Election, Explained.” CalMatters, 15 Aug. 2020, www.calmatters.org/explainers/california-all-mail-election-explained-november-2020/?gclid=CjwKCAjwn9v7BRBqEiwAbq1Ey6kHXnuAgoVEtyVpfpKpwlqz7eftmd-1ueJKz3ln5AjucazSsXEhdBoCxLQQAvD_BwE.
“Get Started.” BallotTrax, 2020, https://california.ballottrax.net/voter/.
Schaul, Kevin, and Ashlyn Still. “Election Night 2020 Could Go on for Weeks - Just Look at the Primaries.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 17 Sept. 2020, www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/elections/how-long-election-results-2020/.
Skelton, George. “Column: Don't Pay Any Attention to Trump. Voting by Mail in California Is Safe, Secure and Reliable.” Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 20 Aug. 2020, www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-08-20/skelton-voting-by-mail-postal-servicalifornia-secretary-of-state-alex-padilla.
Swasey, Benjamin. “Map: Mail-In Voting Rules By State - And The Deadlines You Need.” NPR, NPR, 8 Oct. 2020, www.npr.org/2020/09/14/909338758/map-mail-in-voting-rules-by-state.
“US Election 2020: When Will We Get a Result and Could It Be Contested?” BBC News, BBC, 29 Sept. 2020, www.bbc.com/news/election-us-2020-54096399.
Viebeck, Elise. “Minuscule Number of Potentially Fraudulent Ballots in States with Universal Mail Voting Undercuts Trump Claims about Election Risks.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 11 June 2020, www.washingtonpost.com/politics/minuscule-number-of-potentially-fraudulent-ballots-in-states-with-universal-mail-voting-undercuts-trump-claims-about-election-risks/2020/06/08/1e78aa26-a5c5-11ea-bb20-ebf0921f3bbd_story.html.
“Voter Registration: California Secretary of State to Register to Vote.” California Secretary of State, 2020, www.sos.ca.gov/elections/voter-registration.
“Voting at a Polling Place after Applying to Vote by Mail.” Voting at a Polling Place after Applying to Vote by Mail :: California Secretary of State, 2020, www.sos.ca.gov/elections/voting-resources/voting-california/if-you-applied.
“Voting.” Registrar of Voters > Home, 2020, www.sbcountyelections.com/Voting.aspx.
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