2020 General Election
Turnout rate (VEP)
0
%
Votes cast from mailed-out ballots
0
%
2016 General Election
Turnout rate (VEP)
0
%
Votes cast from mailed out ballots
0
%
State election policies as of 2022...
Full Vote-at-Home
10/10
Full Vote-at-Home
Voter automatically mailed ballot for every election
No Excuse Required
6/6
No Excuse Required
No excuse to vote from home
Single Sign-Up
6/6
Single Sign-Up
Voter signs up once to receive mail ballot for all future elections
Local Vote-at-Home Option
5/5
Local VAH Option
Local governments have discretion to conduct full vote-at-home elections
Online Mail Ballot Sign-Up
2/2
Online Mail Ballot Sign-Up
Voter can apply for mail ballot online
Ballot Tracking
4/4
Ballot Tracking
Voter can receive ballot status notifications.
In-Person Ballot Return
5/5
In-Person Ballot Return
Voter has multiple options to return mail ballot in person
Signature Verification
4/4
Signature Verification
Voter signature verified before ballot is counted
Ballot Cure Process
4/4
Ballot Cure Process
Voter can correct issues so ballot can be counted
Prepaid Postage
4/4
Prepaid Postage
Postage-paid return envelopes provided
Election Day Postmark Acceptance
4/4
Election Day Postmark Acceptance
Ballots postmarked by Election Day are accepted
In-Person Voting
4/4
In-Person Return
Physical locations for voters to vote and receive assistance
Pre-Processing
3/3
Signature Verification
Ballots are verified and scanned before Election Day
Mail Ballot Applications
2/2
Mail Ballot Applications
Election officials can mail ballot applications to all voters eligible to vote from home
Ballot Return Assistance
2/2
Ballot Return Assistance
Voters may receive assistance to return their mail ballot
Opportunities
California allows ballot pre-processing for all counties that either administer all-mail elections or have the computer capability to pre-process. While this is a great start, the State should also ensure that all counties have the computer capacity to conduct this important electoral process, which would facilitate universal pre-processing.
Recent Legislation
As of Sept. 29, 2021
The 2016 California’s Voter’s Choice Act allowed counties to transition fully to Vote By Mail (sending all voters a ballot) and required all counties to provide greater ballot return options. This policy eased the State’s 2020 transition to statewide Vote By Mail. Prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Legislature acted swiftly to speed up California’s transition. By passing AB 860, the Legislature made all counties send all voters mail ballots for the 2020 general election. Foreseeing the massive increase in mail ballots, the law extended the state’s preprocessing and already generous ballot receipt deadline and added ballot tracking to increase voter confidence. 15 of California’s 58 counties were already fully Vote By Mail by 2020, and others are preparing to transition in the future.
During its 2021 session, with AB37 the California Legislature made the transition to statewide full Vote At Home permanent, as well as other Vote At Home policies enacted from the 2020 general election, including extended preprocessing and ballot tracking, into law. Before this bill, it had done this temporarily until 2022 with SB 29. The state also passed AB 796 and SB 503 to amend its existing automatic voter registration and signature verification policies. Lastly, the state passed SB521 to allow the extended preprocessing from 2020 to 2021, as well as permanently extending postmark acceptance and allowing all counties to create vote centers.
Last Updated