Only two weeks remain until the US presidential election on November 5, and early voting by voters across the country is in full swing. In the “deep blue” state of California, the enthusiasm of voters for this election is surprisingly high.
As of October 21, the California Secretary of State’s office reported that nearly 2 million voters had already cast their votes through mail-in ballots, surpassing the number of early voters during the 2022 midterm elections.
Southern California currently has the highest rate of early voting. Of the returned mail-in ballots, over 366,000 ballots were sent back by Los Angeles County voters, more than 267,000 by San Diego County voters, over 223,000 by Orange County voters, over 138,000 by Riverside County voters, and nearly 100,000 by San Bernardino County voters.
In Northern California, Santa Clara County and San Francisco County voters returned the highest number of mail-in ballots, with a combined total of about 140,000 ballots.
California Secretary of State Shirley Weber has encouraged voters to cast their votes early, stating, “When there is an option for early voting, why wait in line on election day?”
“California provides more early voting options and methods,” she said. “If you have not voted yet, make a voting plan. You can submit your completed ballot by mail or at any official secure ballot drop box, voting center, or county elections office.”
To ensure that ballots are counted in a timely manner, the California Republican Party has also changed its strategy, urging voters not to wait and to start voting immediately.
According to California election law, all eligible citizens must register 15 days before election day to legally participate in voting. For this presidential election, the deadline for eligible voters to register was October 21.
If citizens miss the registration deadline, they must go through the Same-Day Voter Registration process and personally collect a ballot at the county elections office or voting center. Once the county elections office completes voter registration verification within a certain timeframe, these ballots can be counted in the final results.
For voters choosing to vote by mail-in ballot, they must fill out the ballot, place it in the provided envelope, sign the envelope, ensuring that the signature matches the one used during voter registration, and then mail it back. Mail-in ballots do not require postage, but must be postmarked by election day, November 5, and received at the county elections office within 7 days after election day to be valid.
If there is a missing signature or the deadline is missed, the ballot will be considered void. To ease concerns about errors during mailing, voters can place their completed mail-in ballot in a designated envelope, sign it, and deliver it to an official ballot drop box. The deadline for submitting ballots is 8 p.m. on election day, November 5, or voters can deliver the signed ballot in person to a voting center by the same deadline.
Starting on October 26, early voting centers across California will progressively open, with varying hours. On election day, November 5, polling stations statewide will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Those who prefer not to vote by mail-in ballot can vote in person at the polling stations.