By Terry Miller
Southern California voters can cast ballots in-person at county elections offices and other locations ahead of the Nov. 3 election. Voting at county registrar-recorder’s offices started Monday, except in Orange County where pop-up vote centers will open on Oct. 24. Most registered voters should have received their mail-in ballots by now.
More than 21 million ballots will be mailed out in California, more than in any state in the nation. Most should arrive this week. State law requires absentee ballots to be mailed no later than Monday Oct 5 which is 29 days before the Nov. 3 election.
In Los Angeles County, select vote centers will open for in-person voting on Oct. 24. All county voting locations will be open beginning Oct. 30. The centers will be open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. during the early voting period. On Election Day, centers will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Despite the false rumors, if you’re not voting for the first time in California, you don’t need to show ID to vote. If you are a first-time voter and didn’t provide a driver’s license number, ID number or last four digits of your Social Security number on your voter registration form, then you will need to show an acceptable form of ID.
Secure ballot dropbox locations also will be available. You’ll need to check with your county elections office for locations.
As a result of recent changes and at the U.S. Postal Service, many voters are concerned about mailing their ballots. According to Spectrum News, “All vote-by-mail ballot return envelopes have prepaid first-class postage and are identified as election mail. The U.S. Postal Service is required to deliver it within two to five business days of the ballot being put in the mail. For a vote-by-mail ballot to count, it needs to be postmarked by November 3. California has extended the time period that mail-in ballots can be received, and still counted, by elections officials to 17 days after the election, so if it is received by November 20 it will be processed and counted.”
For this election, California has put in place a statewide tracking system, in which voters can register to receive updates on their ballot’s delivery and when it’s counted. Every registered voter can sign up to receive vote-by-mail ballot tracking by text, email, or voice call. Voters can sign up at WheresMyBallot.sos.ca.gov.
More information can be found at LAVote.net (for Los Angeles County residents), VoteInfo.net (for Riverside County residents), SBCountyElections.com (for San Bernardino County residents), and OCVote.com (for Orange County residents).
