California voters heading into the November election face two different questions about ballot access.
One is immediate. How can voters make sure the ballot they cast is actually counted?
The other could reshape future elections. Proposition 39, which will appear on the November 3 ballot, would add new identification requirements for voting in California if approved.
Both questions have gained urgency after California rejected nearly 150,000 mail ballots during the June primary, the highest rejection rate in more than a decade. For Latino communities, voting rights advocates say the combination of proposed changes, complicated mail ballot rules and uneven access to election information makes understanding the system especially important.
Kim Alexander, president and founder of the nonpartisan California Voter Foundation, said in an interview with California Latino News that voters can significantly reduce the risk of rejection by changing when and how they return their ballots.
“Every election, some ballots get rejected,” Alexander said, pointing to late ballots and signature problems as the main causes.
Her strongest advice is simple. Do not wait until Election Day to put a ballot in the mail.
California requires mailed ballots to be postmarked by November 3 and received by county election officials no later than November 10. State election officials are urging voters who use the mail to send their ballots at least a week before Election Day.
Alexander told CALN that voters who want to eliminate the possibility of a late postmark can avoid the mail entirely and return their ballots to an official drop box, voting location or county election office.
There is a particular risk for people who wait until November 3.
A ballot dropped into a mailbox after the final collection can receive a November 4 postmark, making it too late even if the voter deposited it on Election Day. California election officials advise anyone who must mail a ballot that day to take it inside a post office and request a manual postmark from a postal employee.
Alexander is encouraging voters to act even earlier this year. Halloween falls on Saturday, October 31, three days before the election.
“We’re encouraging voters to celebrate both Halloween and Election Day by turning in your ballot to a drop box or voting site that day,” she said.
Returning a ballot early can have another benefit. It gives county officials more time to process it, increasing the chance that the vote will be reflected in the first results released on election night.
For people voting by mail, Alexander said the next major risk after timing is the signature on the return envelope.
County officials compare that signature with signatures already in the voter’s record, often one associated with a California driver’s license or state identification card.
If the signatures do not compare closely enough, the ballot can be set aside. The same can happen if a voter forgets to sign the envelope.
Alexander advises voters to make the signature on the ballot envelope resemble the signature they normally use on their driver’s license or identification record.
A signature problem does not automatically mean the vote is lost.
California law requires counties to notify voters when an envelope is unsigned or the signature is determined not to compare with the one on file. The voter then has an opportunity to correct, or cure, the problem.
Alexander said voters should respond as soon as they receive such a notice rather than waiting for the deadline. Some counties allow voters to cure a signature electronically using a phone or tablet, an option the California Voter Foundation would like to see expanded statewide.
Voters in some counties also have another option.
A process often called “Sign, Scan and Go” allows voters to bring a completed mail ballot to a participating voting location, check in and cast it as an in person ballot. The California Voter Foundation says the option can bypass the mail ballot signature verification process and allow the ballot to be scanned at the voting site. The organization found that 31 of California’s 58 counties offered some form of the practice during the June primary.
Voters should check with their county election office before relying on the option because it is not available everywhere.
Alexander also urged Californians to use the state’s ballot tracking system.
“The single best thing a voter can do is sign up for BallotTrax before Election Day,” she told Latino News Network.
California’s Where’s My Ballot service allows voters to receive text, email or phone notifications showing when their ballot was mailed, received and counted. It can also notify voters if there is a problem requiring action. The service is available in every California county.
Alexander said only about 5.4 million of California’s roughly 23 million registered voters are currently enrolled in the tracking system.
Before any of that, however, voters need to make sure their registration is accurate.
The regular registration deadline for the November election is October 19. Voters can confirm their registration and mailing information through the California Secretary of State.
Missing the October 19 deadline does not necessarily prevent someone from voting. California offers same day conditional registration from October 20 through Election Day.
While Californians navigate the current system, they will also decide whether some of its fundamental rules should change.
Hector Villagra, vice president of policy advocacy and community education at the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, or MALDEF, explained in an interview with Latino News Network that confusion surrounding Proposition 39 is one of the issues Latino voters should pay particular attention to before November.
“Proposition 39 is worth highlighting because it is not the law,” Villagra said.
That distinction matters.
Proposition 39 is on the November ballot, but its proposed identification requirements do not apply to the November 3 election.
If approved, the constitutional amendment would require voters to present government issued identification when voting in person. People voting by mail would have to provide the last four digits of a selected government issued identification number on their ballot envelope.
A yes vote would establish the additional identification requirements. A no vote would leave the current signature based system in place.
Villagra said MALDEF believes the additional requirements could place greater burdens on naturalized citizens, lower income voters, older voters, people with disabilities, students and people whose names or addresses differ among government records.
For November, however, the current rules remain in effect.
That means voters should not assume campaign messages about Proposition 39 describe what identification they need to cast a ballot this year.
For Villagra, the challenge goes beyond identification requirements.
“The largest problem is that California often treats language access as the translation of a ballot rather than as an end to end voting service,” Villagra told California Latino News.
A voter may interact with signature correction notices, envelope instructions, ballot tracking alerts, election websites and provisional ballot information before the process is complete.
Villagra said those materials are not always translated as completely or clearly as the ballot itself. Bilingual staffing and telephone assistance can also be inconsistent, particularly at smaller, rural or temporary voting locations.
Federal law requires translated election materials in jurisdictions that meet certain population and literacy thresholds. California law extends some language requirements to additional precincts.
But Villagra argued that a translated reference ballot is not the same as making the entire voting process accessible in a voter’s preferred language.
Official information can also arrive after misinformation has already circulated through social media and community networks, he said.
Villagra wants election officials to provide information earlier and publish more detailed data about ballot rejection and curing rates, including information broken down by language preference, age, geography and race or ethnicity.
Alexander said language and access barriers can make an already complicated process more difficult.
She pointed Latino voters to NALEO Educational Fund’s bilingual voter assistance hotline at 1 888 VE Y VOTA, or 1 888 839 8682. The Election Protection Hotline is available at 1 866 OUR VOTE, or 1 866 687 8683. The California Secretary of State also provides Spanish language voter assistance at 800 232 VOTA, or 800 232 8682.
Voters who encounter problems at a voting location have additional protections.
Someone whose name does not appear on the voter list can ask to cast a provisional ballot. Voters who are already in line when polls close at 8 p.m. have the right to remain in line and vote. People who need assistance because of a disability or language barrier can also ask for help.
Taken together, Alexander and Villagra’s advice comes down to preparation.
Check your registration before October 19. Understand that Proposition 39 is a proposal voters will decide in November, not a requirement for voting in the November election. If voting by mail, return the ballot early and carefully sign the envelope. Track it after returning it. If election officials flag a problem, respond immediately.
California’s debate over identification, ballot access and election administration will continue beyond November.
For individual voters, however, knowing the rules already in place can determine something much more immediate. Whether their vote makes it into the final count.
Alex Segura is Managing Editor for Latino News Network West, overseeing California Latino News and Washington Latino News. He is a journalist based in California with more than a decade of experience covering U.S. politics, immigration and Latino communities.