California has a unique voting system, which includes a Top Two Primary system. This blog post provides information about what it is like to vote in California.
TOP TWO PRIMARY SYSTEM
The first thing to know is that California uses a Top Two Primary System. California voters approved this system for statewide offices in June of 2010. With the Top Two Primary, all candidates running for an office are listed on one ballot, regardless of party preference. A candidate’s party has no impact on how the election is conducted or who is allowed to advance to the General Election. Instead, candidates go on to a run-off election based solely on how many votes they receive in the Primary.
- It does not matter if one candidate receives a majority of the votes cast: the top two vote getters advance to the general election.
- Even if only one or two candidates are running for a Top Two office, there will still be a primary election for that office.
- Because candidates are not appearing on the ballot representing a party, it is possible for two candidates from the same party to be the top two vote-getters and advance to the General Election.
The Top Two Primary applies to the following offices:
- United States Senators
- Congressional Represenatives
- State Senators
- Assembly members
- Governor
- Lt. Governor
- State Treasurer
- Secretary of State
- State Attorney General
On June 6, 2022, @CASOSVote tweeted: “As of May 23, there were 21,941,212 registered voters in California, which is 81.53% of eligible Californians, the highest percentage of Californians registered heading into a Gubernatorial Primary in 68 years…”
Voting Rights in California
Californians Experiencing Homelessness Can Vote
June 2, 2022: CapRadio posted an article titled: “Californians experiencing homelessness have the right to vote. Here’s how it works:” From the article:
Eligible Californians of all backgrounds – including those experiencing homelessness – can vote in the June 7 primary election.
Election officials and advocates for unhoused people say it’s not well known that people without a permanent address can register and cast a ballot. But over the past four decades, state and federal courts have ruled that homeless people cannot be denied the right to vote simply because they lack a roof over their head.
The courts have found unhoused residents can register by listing a shelter, landmark, park or street corner close to where they sleep as their address.
Despite the rulings, as few as 10% of homeless people vote in elections, compared with 54% of the country’s voting-age population, according to an article by Dora Kingsley Vertenten, a professor of public policy at the University of Southern California…
…Here is how the process works
In Sacramento County, election officials are encouraging homeless residents to take advantage of their rights.
“We just want to make sure that people know that this option exists,” said Janna Haynes, a spokesperson for Sacramento County, which recently issued a news release explaining how the process works. “We want to do everything we can to give them the opportunity to vote.”
Relatively few unhoused residents are registered to vote in the county compared with their overall numbers. The county’s most recent count in 2019 found 5,500 people were experiencing homelessness, though those number are expected to increase after this year’s count.
But election officials have mailed only about 450 ballots to unhoused residents, mainly those who live at shelters or use a service provider’s address, Haynes said. Officials are encouraging unsheltered homeless people to register and vote at any county voting center by submitting a general location such as a park or nearby intersection as their address…
…The same process applies in Yolo County where elections staff provided this guidance for unhoused residents:
“If you are unsheltered or homeless, you only need a description of where you live,” the county’s election website states. “If you do not have a street address, provide an exact description, including cross streets. If applicable, identify the corner or area where you live. For instance: ‘Northwest corner of 1st St. and Court St.'”…
September 20, 2022: CBS News posted an article titled: “Yolo County pushes voter registration ahead of midterms”. From the article:
…In West Sacramento, Yolo County officials held a voter registration drive…
…Voting advocates also say Californians who are being supervised by probation or parole or serving a jail sentence are eligible to vote. An exception is for anyone currently incarcerated due to a felony.
The Center for Inclusive Democracy released a report highlighting the barriers formerly incarcerated people face in the state.
“If you are unsheltered or homeless, you only need a description of where you live,” the county’s election website states. “If you do not have a street address, provide an exact description, including cross streets. If applicable, identify the corner or area where you live. For instance: ‘Northwest corner of 1st St. and Court St.'”…
September 20, 2022: CBS News posted an article titled: “Yolo County pushes voter registration ahead of midterms”. From the article:
…In West Sacramento, Yolo County officials held a voter registration drive…
…Voting advocates also say Californians who are being supervised by probation or parole or serving a jail sentence are eligible to vote. An exception is for anyone currently incarcerated due to a felony.
The Center for Inclusive Democracy released a report highlighting the barriers formerly incarcerated people face in the state.
September 26, 2022: Redding Record Searchlight posted an article titled: “Shasta County elections office warns of potential voter intimidation ahead of 2022 midterms”. From the article:
Shasta County residents are being warned about the potential for voter intimidation after reports of people canvassing neighborhoods and contacting voters at their homes.
The reports of alleged voter intimidation come six weeks before the Nov. 8 election.
County Clerk and Register of Voters Cathy Darling Allen said she has been contacted four times since Sept. 17 by four different voters about people wearing reflective vests who claim they are part of a “voter task force.”
“They are questioning who lives at the address, who is registered at the address and who voted at the address,” Darling Allen said.
Darling Allen said she was told the questioners were, “very aggressive”.
Department will not come to your home and question you. People who preform this kind of activity are violating the law and intimidating voters,” Darling Allen said in a news release…
…Darling Allen has contacted the Shasta County Sheriff’s Office, Redding Police Department and Anderson Police Department, the Secretary of State, and the U.S. Department of Justice, which launched a task force to combat threats against election workers in June 2021…
Mail-In Ballots
Every registered voter in California received a mail-in ballot. This gives voters the option to take their time to look up information about candidates, propositions, and more from the comfort of their own homes. It is also especially good for people who have disabilities that would make it hard for them to stand in a line for a long time.
There is also the option to go to a polling place and vote in-person. Either way will do – so long as people chose ONE way to vote.
The mail-in ballot envelope included a pamphlet with helpful information:
Every registered voter in California received a mail-in ballot. This gives voters the option to take their time to look up information about candidates, propositions, and more from the comfort of their own homes. It is also especially good for people who have disabilities that would make it hard for them to stand in a line for a long time.
There is also the option to go to a polling place and vote in-person. Either way will do – so long as people chose ONE way to vote.
The mail-in ballot envelope included a pamphlet with helpful information:
WARNING: CORRUPTING THE VOTING PROCESS IS PROHIBITED!
VIOLATIONS SUBJECT TO FINE AND/OR IMPRISONMENT
WHAT ACTIVITIES ARE PROHIBITED:
- DO NOT commit or attempt to commit election fraud.
- DO NOT provide any sort of compensation or bribery to, in any fashion by any means induce or attempt to induce, a person to vote or refrain from voting
- DO NOT illegally vote
- DO NOT attempt to vote or aid another to vote when not entitled to vote
- DO NOT engage in electioneering; photograph or record a voter entering or leaving a polling place; or obstruct ingress, egress, or parking.
- DO NOT challenge a person’s right to vote or prevent voters from voting; delay the process of voting; or fraudulently advise any person that he or she is not eligible to vote is not registered to vote.
- DO NOT attempt to ascertain how a voter voted on their ballot.
- DO NOT possess or arrange for someone to possess a firearm in the immediate vicinity of a polling place, with some exceptions.
- DO NOT taper or interfere with any component of a voting system.
- DO NOT forge, counterfeit, or tamper with the results of an election.
There was also a VOTER BILL OF RIGHTS, which states the following:
You have the right to vote if you are a currently registered voter. You are eligible to vote if you are a U.S. citizen living in California, at least 18 years old, registered where you currently live, not currently serving a state or federal prison term for the conviction of a felony, and not currently found mentally incompetent to vote by a court.
You have the right to vote if you are a registered voter even if your name is not on the list. You will vote on a provisional ballot. Your vote will be counted if elections officials determine that you still have the right to vote.
You have the right to vote if you are still in line when the polls close.
You have the right to cast a secret ballot without anyone bothering you or telling you how to vote.
You have the right to get a new ballot it, prior to casting your ballot, you believe you made a mistake. You can ask an election official at a polling place for a new ballot, exchange your vote-by-mail ballot for a new one at an elections office, or at your polling place, or vote with a provisional ballot.
You have the right to get help casting your ballot from anyone you choose, except from your employer or union representative.
You have the right to drop off your completed ballot at any polling place in California.
You have the right to get election materials in a language other than English if enough people in your voting precinct speak that language.
You have the right to ask questions to elections officials about election procedures and watch the election process. If the person you ask cannot answer your questions, they must send you to the right person for an answer. If you are disruptive, they can stop answering you.
You have the right to report an illegal or fraudulent election activity to an elections official or the Secretary of State’s office.
Voting in the 2022 Midterm Elections
November 5: NBC Bay Area posted an article titled: “Levi’s Stadium to Serve as One of the Biggest Polling Centers in Bay Area”. From the article:
Levi’s Stadium will be playing a big role in the upcoming midterm elections.
The stadium is opening Saturday as one of the biggest polling centers in the Bay Area.
Voters will have a chance to go there and vote early starting 9 a.m. Saturday through Monday afternoon.
On Election Day, the polling center at Levi’s Stadium will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
November 5: KCRA 3 posted an article titled: “El Dorado County reports low early voting turnout, prepares for upcoming severe weather”. From the article:
With the oncoming threat of rain and snow in the forecast, El Dorado County officials are doing what they can to make sure every vote is counted come Election Day.
The elections office is working with the sheriff’s department as well as the road crews in case roads get bad on Tuesday. Generators are also being dropped off at polling places as a backup if the power goes out.
“Primarily in South Lake Tahoe the amount of snow they’re talking about is two to three feet that could end up closing down some of the areas up there and make it really difficult for people to get to vote centers or drop boxes,” said Bill O’Neill, the registrar of voters for El Dorado County.
Weather can have a major impact on voter turnout and with snow and rain in the forecast people should be prepared to stand outside.
“Wear a nice warm jacket and umbrella and just be patient. We’re going to move people through as quickly as we can,” O’Neill said.
Ahead of the storms, the elections office said they haven’t seen quite the turnout they wanted for early voting.
“Both in-person voting, as well as mail, has been pretty low. We’re at about 24% right now. It’s a low turnout for the general elections. So far out of 138,000 voters, we have just over 32,000 ballots back,” O’Neill said.
Despite the low turnout, they say hundreds of people are calling the office daily trying to figure out how to vote…
November 6: 10 News San Diego posted an article titled: “Early voting in San Diego County by the numbers” From the article:
The San Diego County of Registrar of Voters released early voting data ahead of the midterm Election Day this upcoming Tuesday…
Expected turnout: 60% to 65%
Historical Turnout for Gubernatorial General Elections:
- Sept. 14, 2021: California Gubernatorial Recall Election – 59.93%
- Nov. 6, 2018: Gubernatorial General Election – 66.42%
Registered Voters (as of close of registration, Oct. 24)
Total Registered Voters: 1,925,738
- Democratic: 799,375
- Republican: 519,234
- Nonpartisan: 487,197
- Other: 119,932
Mail Ballots:
- Number issued: Over 1.9 million
- Number already returned: Over 480,000
141 Ballot Drop Box locations, including Registrar of Voters office
- Number of drop-offs: Over 106,000 (as of Nov. 5)
Early Voting at the Registrar of Voters
- Over 7,000 voters (as of Nov. 5) – Centers open Oct. 29 through Nov. 7…
November 7: ABC 10News San Diego posted an article titled: “Thousands already casts votes in Midterm Election” From the article:
Democracy is at work even ahead of Election Day in San Diego County.
“Incredibly easy, in fact, I’ve had this in my car for a few days and I work just around the corner so I had to get it done today. I love mail-in balloting,” said Buddy Voit, a voter.
“It’s easy. It’s so easy. There’s no reason why we can’t, but I really hope that everyone does their research,” said Gabriel Adona, a voter.
More than 1.9 million people are registered to vote in San Diego Country.
As of Sunday morning, more than 480,000 voters have dropped off their ballots.
Voters that ABC 10News spoke to said the future was top of mind.
“It’s what we want for our kids and for our families,” said Jessica Peter, a voter.
Voit agreed.
“A lot of the propositions – there’s so much advertising and it’s just all negative not informative, but its just telling you don’t do this so you really have to take some time to read it,” expressed Voit.
Voters say educating yourself is also important.
This midterm election has proven to be heated across the country with other states seeing armed people outside of ballot drop-off areas and people making threats.
But the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department tells ABC 10News in a statement there is a there have been no threats so far.
“We believe we have adequate staffing on duty and have additional resources available if needed. The Registrar of Voters has been working very hard to ensure a safe and secure election process. We have been working and collaborating with our local, state, and federal partners and are ready to respond appropriately to any incident. As of this moment, we have no intelligence or information of any threats to the County of San Diego.”
November 7: KTLA 75 posted an article titled: “Los Angeles Metro offers free Election Day rides on all busses, trains, and more” From the article:
Anyone can get free Election Day rides on Los Angeles County Metro buses, trains and more to encourage people to get out and vote Tuesday.
The Metropolitan Transit Authority voted in 2019 to permanently offer free rides on federal and statewide election days to make it easier for people to travel to and from local polling places…
…Free rides will run from midnight to 11:59 p.m. on Nov. 8 and will also include free access to Metro’s Bike Share and Metro Micro options…
…Metro Bike Share users will receive a free 30-minute ride with fees costing $1.75 per 30 minutes after the first half hour. Riders trying to access the deal will need to enter code 110822.
Metro Micro users will need enter code Vote2022 for unlimited free ride in all Metro Micro zones Nov. 8.
November 7: CBS News posted an article titled: “UC Davis report studies political violence ahead of midterms” From the article:
Sacramento – What is on the minds of voters as Election Day approaches?
In California, there is inflation, economy, crime, abortion, and homelessness. But the issue most pressing to some voters is not even on the ballot.
This election cycle, America’s democracy seems fragile to some voters…
…It is not merely a feeling.
A new UC Davis report examined supporters of the former president to see how likely they are to support violence to advance political objectives.
According to researchers, respondents believed another U.S. civil war is likely and that it’s more important to have a strong leader than democracy in America.
“However, they are not more likely to say that they would engage in that violence themselves,” said Dr. Garen Wintemute, an emergency physician and director of the Violence Prevention Research Program at UC Davis.
With the visibility of acts and threats of political violence, is it possible to reverse course?
Researchers believe dialing down the rhetoric is a start and people need to sound the alarm…
…Threats of political violence, skyrocketing costs and quality-of-life issues have people stressed.
A poll shows more than a quarter of adult Americans are so stressed, they cannot function.
But experts believe there are ways around stress, especially with elections…
November 7: Bakersfield.com posted an article titled: “Polls open in Kern County Tuesday”. From the article:
The polls are open Tuesday, Kern County, and another election cycle is here.
Voters in the Central Valley, across California and the country will return to polls on Tuesday, be it in person or by mail, to consider a host of candidates and issues that will determine, in many respects, the nation’s trajectory.
From 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday, more than 100 poll sites and 17 official drop boxes in Kern County are open to registered voters who will decide the fate of a tightly contested midterm election, with many seats attracting national attention.
“I think the most important thing is for us to vote for local elections, where we get to call the shots,” said Cathy Abernathy, a prominent Kern County Republican strategists. Statewide, they have more impact. But we can make a difference on the City Council and Board of Supervisors.”
Races include two U.S. congressional elections, state legislative offices, Kern County Board of Supervisors seats, and Bakersfield City Council, among others. There are also several critical ballot measures for voters to consider.
According to county statistics, Kern has approximately 426,000 registered voters, a slight increase from 2018 numbers. In line with past elections, 36 percent label themselves Republican, barely edging a 35 percent Democratic base. Past races in the Central Valley have come down to the sway of moderates, which means a victory may likely come by a couple of hundred votes.
“When T.J. Cox defeated David Valadao, it was by a couple dozen votes. Many of these elections could be decided by a couple dozen votes.”…
…Kern County election officials reported receiving 73,000 ballots through Saturday. According to Kern County Registrar Mary Bedard, officials are rushing to process early votes quickly to better be prepared for election night.
“Elections are extremely important in our civic life, since it is the time when all citizens can make their voices heard,” she said.
Historically, midterm years usually see a lower turnout and less interest compared to presidential elections…
November 7: KCRA posted an article titled: “Political Data Inc. exec breaks down California ballot returns, forecasts for 2022 midterm elections” From the article:
As of Monday, Nov. 7, 20% of ballots sent our to registered voters in California have been returned, according to Political Data Inc. That’s 4.3 million out of more than 21 million sent out.
KCRA spoke with the vice president of Political Data Inc. to go through who is voting early, how it compares to past elections and the forecast results.
“In 2018, we only had 20 million voters. Now we have 22 million voters. So it is kind of like apples to oranges,” PDI Vice President Paul Mitchell said. “We can look more at the recall election.”
the returns are lower so close to the deadline for this election.
“The ballot we got this year is a lot more complicated than the recall,” Mitchell said. “So, a lot of people might be waiting to vote and kind of figuring out the judges or propositions before they turn in the ballot.”
November 7: Fox 5 posted an article titled: “San Diego County Registrar of Voters assure election and voting security” From the article:
San Diego County Registrar of Voters, Cynthia Paes said they are staying prepared as they continue welcome more voters to cast their ballots ahead of Election Day. This includes making sure security features are in place.
“Get out there exercise your right to vote,” said Paes.
Voting securely, while being safe is a top priority for the San Diego County Registrar of Voters Office. Paes said their election officials or workers have not received any threats, violence or intimidations.
San Diego County Registrar of Voters, Cynthia Paes said they are staying prepared as they continue welcome more voters to cast their ballots ahead of Election Day. This includes making sure security features are in place.
“Get out there exercise your right to vote,” said Paes.
Voting securely, while being safe is a top priority for the San Diego County Registrar of Voters Office. Paes said their election officials or workers have not received any threats, violence or intimidations.
November 7: KCRA 3 posted an article titled: “Control of the House is primary focus for California Democrats, Republicans ahead of Election Day” From the article:
California voters on Tuesday will help determine which party controls the U.S. House of Representatives, the top priority for the Democratic and Republican parties in California.
“We’re working to make sure we hold the house and holding the house runs through California,” said California Democratic Party Chairman Rusty Hicks.
Democrats are on defense after having majority control over Congress over the last two years. Party leaders say protecting abortion access and democracy is part of the party’s key messaging ahead of Tuesday.
“Given what we saw in 2020 and on Jan. 6, I think we all recognize the race for 2024 is on here and now, and ensuring the preservation and protection of our democracy includes holding the house, Hicks said.
The California Democratic Party has five must-win races, according to campaign emails sent to supporters this week. These races are:
- District 9: Josh Harder (D) vs Tom Patti (R)
- District 13: Adam Gray (D) vs John Duarte (R)
- District 26: Julia Brownley (D) vs Matt Jacobs (R)
- District 47: Katie Porter (D) vs Scott Baugh (R)
- District 49: Mike Levin (D) vs Brian Maryott (R)
The California Republican Party has several get-out-the-vote events in those districts this weekend ahead of Election Day.
“Californians are absolutely feeling it, whether that’s the economy of inflation, the cost of everything from gas to groceries or the crime we see on our streets,” said California GOP Chairwoman Jessica Millan Patterson.
The party said it feels confident about picking up at least the five seats needed to take back the House…
…Gov. Gavin Newsom is also getting involved.
Newsom’s campaign Friday announced he would spend the day in Southern California on Sunday to rally for congressional candidates in tight races, including Katie Porter and Christy Smith.
Newsom has raised $6 million this election cycle for causes and candidates outside of his own campaign for reelection.
November 7: Ventura County Star posted an article titled: “Ventura County voters get a last chance to cast ballots in the midterm election Tuesday”. From the article:
Voters get their last chance to cast a ballot in California’s midterm election on Tuesday as a winter storm sweeps into Ventura County.
After some showers Monday, the bulk of the rain and snow will hit Southern California on Election Day, said Kristen Stewart, meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s Oxnard office. Heavier rain is expected to reach the county just after dawn – likely in time for the morning commute and vote centers opening – and last throughout the day, she said.
In all, the storm is expected to drop 1 to 3 inches of rain in coastal and valley areas, and 2 to 5 inches in the foothills and mountains.
How the store affects voter turnout remains to be seen, said county elections chief Mark Lunn. The good news is that voters have a lot of ways to turn in their ballots, he said.
Ballots may be turned in at one of the county’s dozens of drop boxes or 51 vote centers. They also may be mailed for free, but Lunn recommended against using the Post Office so close to Election Day.
All ballots must be postmarked by Nov. 8 and received at the elections division by Nov. 15 to be counted…
…As of Monday morning, the elections devision had received roughly 130,000 ballots or 25% of the more than 505,000 sent to registered voters. That figure includes ballots received by mail, dropped off at the vote centers or left in drop boxes.
Earlier this year, the county switched to the state’s Voters Choice Act election model that requires mail-in ballots for all registered voters and extended in-person voting days but reduces the number of voting locations.
Instead, hundreds of polling places, a smaller number of vote centers are open for additional days. Voters also can cast ballots at any center in the county, not just those closest to them…
November 7: San Francisco Examiner posted an article titled: “New poll shows S.F. not buying false claims of illegal voting”. From the article:
Amid overwhelming evidence illegal voting is rare, not nearly pervasive enough to sway elections and persistent false claims to the contrary, fewer Bay Area voters identify it as a threat to American democracy than their statewide peers in a new poll.
The UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies Poll asked registered voters a number of questions late last month about the state of U.S. democracy, including the potential dangers it faces, ahead of Tuesday’s midterm elections.
Asked whether “people voting or casting ballots illegally in elections” poses a major threat, a minor threat, or no threat at all to American democracy, 48% of registered Bay Area identified voter fraud as no threat. That was at least nine percentage points higher than every region of the state, including Los Angeles, where 34% of voters said the same.
Forty-eight percent of registered voters in the Bay Area’s nine countries identified illegal voting as a threat of some kind to democracy in the U.S. Twenty-nine percent said it was a major threat, while 19% said it was a minor one.
“Some vague feelings that voter fraud is a problem are not unusual,” Jason McDaniel, an associate professor of political science at San Francisco State University who specializes in voting behavior and urban politics, told The Examiner in an interview on Monday…
…Statewide, a higher percentage of voters (39%) said that illegal voting was a major threat than those who said it wasn’t at all (34%) even though it is, in actuality, far from widespread in American elections.
The Associated Press in July found that the expanded use of ballot drop boxes in the 2020 presidential election led to no associated fraud cases that could have affected the results, seven months after finding just 475 cases of voter fraud out of more than 25 million votes in six battleground states that President Joe Biden won…
…Yet, as conspiracy theories about election results continues to spread, perceptions of illegal voting also persist.
Former President Donald Trump has falsely and repeatedly claimed that voter fraud was widespread in the 2016, 2018, and 2020 elections, the latter of which was echoed by rioters who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 2021 in an effort to halt the certification of Biden’s electoral college victory…
…False voter fraud claims have become widespread within Trump’s party. Ninety percent of registered Republican voters in California polled by Berkeley IGS identified illegal voting as a threat of some kind to democracy, compared to just 45% of Democrats…
November 7: The Sacramento Bee posted an article titled: “‘We want election integrity.” The life cycle of a Sacramento County ballot”. From the article:
If Sacramento County Elections Manager Karalyn Fox could tell voters one thing, it would be this: “If you have questions, come observe the process. Get your answers here.”
It seems like a simple request. But in the post-2020 era of skepticism so severe it’s metamorphosed into wild conspiracy theories and occasional violence, the work that officials like Fox are doing to make elections more transparent matters.
“We are really hard workers,” she said. “We want election integrity.”
The Voter Registration and Elections Office has taken just about every imaginable step to detail for voters what happens to their ballot – especially since more people than ever are mailing them or using drop boxes before the election. One such step is a thorough tour of the county elections office and follow-up Q&A sessions.
For those unable to attend in-person, The Sacramento Bee went for you.
The Process
If you didn’t use the U.S. Postal Service and took your ballot instead to a voting center or drop box, its journey begins with a team of two election staffers – everything is done in pairs, no one goes alone, in an AirTagged county vehicle. They collect them and drive to an unassuming office building in an unassuming part of South Sacramento, just off off Florin Road, around the corner from the Walmart Supercenter.
The county elections office is as anodyne as any other county facility, only on the inside, its employees are doing some of the most important work they’ll do all year.
Ballots are sorted by precinct and run through an industrial mail sorter called the BlueCrest machine. It scans the bar code on the ballot envelope and captures the signature, too. Election staff compare the signatures with those on voter registration forms to make sure they match.
The Duplication Team looks for potential damage to, or writing on, the ballot that might cause problems when it’s tabulated – like tearing, or use of red pen – that may warrant a duplication. If necessary, the team will put the information on a clean ballot so that it can be tabulated.
In a separate room with a 24/7 livestream available to anyone, ballots are put through the tabulator machine. If something is unclear – a vote is crossed out and re-done, for example – a team of adjudicators will assess the ballot for voter intent.
Ballot tabulators are used in over 90% of election jurisdictions in the United States and are widely regarded as both accurate and efficient. This has not stopped conspiracy theories – reinforced by former President Donald Trump and those who believe the 2020 election was stolen from him – from spreading. Namely, Trump and his supporters thought that the machines were rigged.
No credible evidence of such tampering has surfaced…
November 8: The San Luis Obispo Tribune posted an article titled: “What we will – and won’t – know on election night in California midterms”. From the article:
…What Will You Know On Election Night In California?
You won’t know official election results on election night. For those, we’ll all be waiting for the counties and Secretary of State to certify the count.
How does California Count Ballots?
You won’t know official election results on election night. For those, we’ll all be waiting for the counties and Secretary of State to certify the count.
The Secretary of State then will receive a certified statement of the election by county officials.
By the 38th day after the election, the Secretary of State must determine the winners, certify the results, and deliver certificates of election to the elected candidates.
Official results will be posted by Dec. 16 to the Secretary of State’s website.
November 8: Cal Coast Times posted an article titled: “Poll workers accused on misconduct in San Luis Obispo County”. From the article:
After poll workers at multiple polling places in San Luis Obispo County refused to provide ballots to voters, several voters contacted both the SLO County Clerk Recorder and the FBI regarding workers’ failures to follow election laws.
Voters are permitted to vote at the polls, and many exchange their mail-in ballots for poll ballots. However, multiple poll workers are telling voters to fill in their mail-in ballots and drop them in the box without the envelope, which disqualifies their votes.
Voters are required to use poll ballots at the polling places, unless they place their mail-in ballot in the envelope provided, which then must be signature approved at the clerk recorder’s office, and will not be counted on election night…
Poll workers argued that there was no reason to give her another ballot and told her to fill out the mail-in ballot and drop it in a box without the envelope, which would invalidate her vote.
[The woman] then called County clerk Recorder Elaina Cano who agreed that mail-in ballots dropped without envelopes at polling places would be disqualified. Cano said she would resolve the issue, [the woman] said…
January 27: Reuters posted “Fact Check – 10.8 million ‘unaccounted for’ ballots in 2022 midterm in California not an indication of fraud”. From the article:
The state of California automatically sends ballots to all registered voters, who are then permitted either to vote by mail or in person. During the 2022 midterm elections in California, 21.9 million ballots were sent out and 11.1 million people voted, leaving around 10.8 million ballots sent to voters who did not cast them.
Posts on social media are sharing this figure alongside claims that it is indicative of election fraud. However, there has been no evidence presented that those uncast ballots were used for fraud. Several other U.S. states and foreign countries also mail ballots toll voters, a practice that always implies that a percentage of ballots sent out will not be used. The office of California’s Secretary of State said there were ample fraud protection measures in place.
A Facebook user shared the claim that 10.8 million mail ballots were “Unaccounted For” in 2022 and wrote “A CLEAN ELECTION RIGHT? NOTHING HERE RIGHT? NO EVIDENCE OF FRAUD RIGHT? TRUMP SUPPORTERS ARE DENIERS HOW SILLY RIGHT? DEMOCRATS 1001 WAYS TO CHEAT THE 2022 MID TERM ELECTION!!!”
(NOTE: Facebook added a Missing Content label to that post. “Independent fact-checkers say this information could mislead people.”)
Some of the claims link to a Breitbart article that says 10.8 million midterm ballots were “unaccounted for” in California. The article cites data and text from the conservative elections group Public Interest Legal Foundation (PILF) that says “there were more than 10 million ballots left outstanding, meaning election officials do not know what happened to them.”…
…Joe Kocurek, a spokesperson for the CA Secretary of State’s office, described measures to prevent fraud. Voters can track their own ballots (voterstatus.sos.ca.gov/). The tracking includes being able to check “when it has been mailed to them, whether it was returned to their election official, whether it was counted, and if it wasn’t counted the reason for not counting it,” Koucurek said.
“If a voter does not receive their ballot, they can request a replacement ballot through Election Day. This replacement ballot is subject to verification that the missing ballot was not cast,” Kocureck said. A unique number is assigned to each ballot and voters’ signatures are verified.
Several voting rights groups told Reuters that the safeguards in California’s system, as in other states, are designed to prevent fraudulent voting, such as attempts by voters to cast more than one ballot…
...VERDICT
Misleading. Nearly 10.8 million mail-in ballots were sent to voters who did not vote in the 2022 general election, but there has been no evidence that this represents fraud, as said by social media posts. All California registered voters receive ballots, and the percentage of those ballots that were cast were similar to turnout in past midterms…