Maintain studying to discover ways to fill out your poll, how essential your signature is and your choices if it’s good to begin once more with a recent poll. Or leap straight to:
If you happen to’re on the lookout for details about what’s in your poll, check out KQED’s guides to:
- Proposition 50, which proposes redrawing California’s congressional district strains (for all California voters)
- Measure A, which proposes Santa Clara County will increase its gross sales tax to fund county companies (for Santa Clara voters solely.)
(And if you wish to be sure to’re truly registered to vote accurately, learn our 2024 information to checking your voter registration — together with why you may have to re-register.)
I tousled. How do I repair a mistake on my poll?
First, don’t panic.
Individuals make errors on ballots, they usually additionally discover good methods to right them. The job of county elections officers — as soon as they’ve verified your signature — is to ensure your poll may be learn accurately. If that signifies that your corrections in your poll have resulted in readability points, officers working in groups of two will truly remake it for you in response to the intent you’ve signaled along with your corrections.
The primary factor to know is that there’s no one-size-fits-all method to fixing a mistake in your poll in California — how a voter corrects a goof is as much as the county, and people directions fluctuate from place to position.
Your personal county’s recommendation for methods to repair a mistake in your poll is nearly definitely printed on your poll, so verify there first. However right here’s what every county’s registrar informed KQED in 2024 about fixing a mistake, so scroll down to search out your county or use the short hyperlinks beneath. In the event that they despatched us a visible information, we’ve included that, too.
And if in case you have a selected query about your poll that isn’t answered right here, you’ll be able to at all times contact your native county elections workplace for recommendation and directions.
Alameda
Alameda County’s poll instructs voters to request a recent poll in the event that they make a mistake, reasonably than attempt to right it.
Bounce straight to how one can get a brand new poll. You can even name the Alameda County Registrar of Voters at 510-267-8683 or 800-345-VOTE(8683) with questions on your particular person poll.
Contra Costa
If you happen to make a mistake, Contra Costa County Registrar Kristin Connelly informed KQED that “A easy X by way of the oval of the wrong selection and a filled-in oval on their right selection is sufficient.”
“[A]s lengthy as we will decide what the voter’s intent is, we will ensure that we depend their vote accurately,” Connelly mentioned. However for those who’re nonetheless fearful about your vote, you’ll be able to at all times ask for a alternative poll, to both mail again or use to vote in individual.
“It’s completely as much as the voter and what makes them snug and safe that their vote shall be counted,” she mentioned.
Napa
John Tuteur, Napa County Registrar of Voters, mentioned that if somebody makes a mistake on their poll, like marking Sure after they meant to mark No, “they need to circle the right selection and draw an arrow to it.”
The county’s vote-counting machines — technically often known as “optical scanner poll tabulators” — will mechanically flag and ahead any poll that reveals an “overvote” like this (i.e., when a race has extra solutions than is permitted) to employees who’re skilled to adjudicate these items, and work out what that voter supposed with their correction.
This course of is all documented, Tuteur mentioned, so elections employees at all times know which adjudicator reviewed which poll and what they determined.
Santa Clara
Steve Goltiao, affiliate communications officer with Santa Clara County’s Registrar of Voters, mentioned you’ll be able to “right it by crossing out the mistaken selection and filling out the right oval as proven within the image” beneath. You shouldn’t signal or preliminary the correction, Goltiao mentioned.
You can even request a alternative poll by calling 408-299-VOTE (8683) or toll-free 866-430-VOTE(8683). “Voters may use the Distant Accessible Vote by Mail System (RAVBM) to obtain a duplicate of the poll that may be printed and returned by mail,” Goltiao mentioned. Learn extra info for Santa Clara voters about marking and returning ballots.
San Francisco
“[V]oters can request alternative ballots in the event that they make a mistake marking a range,” San Francisco Division of Elections Director John Arntz informed KQED. You possibly can request a brand new poll in individual at your polling place and, from the San Francisco elections workplace at Metropolis Corridor, and by calling or emailing the Division of Election (scroll to the underside of this hyperlink for contact particulars.) You can even use their Voter Portal on-line to request a alternative poll.
But when a voter doesn’t need to — or can’t — request a alternative poll, Arntz mentioned, “We inform them they will additionally cross out the wrong choice, fill within the right oval, and notice on the cardboard they made a mistake.” The explanation that is OK, Artnz mentioned, is as a result of the vote-counting machines will acknowledge and flag any poll that incorporates greater than the allowed variety of votes for a selected race. The poll is then “moved to guide evaluation or adjudication,” and elections staffers will personally take a look at the poll to work out what the voter meant.
“When voters point out they made a mistake, our personnel will treatment the overvote to replicate the voters’ intent, and the cardboard is then tabulated,” Artnz mentioned.
San Mateo
Mark Church, San Mateo County’s assessor-county clerk-recorder and chief elections officer informed KQED that “any further markings a voter makes together with an ‘X’ by way of a range selection on the poll” will trigger the poll to get flagged and positioned in a “challenged” standing. Then your poll is shipped to one of many county’s adjudication stations, the place a staffer will decide the way you meant to vote along with your markings.
“Thus, it’s most popular {that a} voter request a alternative poll in the event that they make a mistake in marking their poll,” Church mentioned — which you are able to do in individual by visiting one of many county’s 49 Vote Facilities or calling the Elections Workplace at 650-312-5222.
Solano
“[L]ike numerous issues, it type of is determined by the case and the way near election day it’s,” Solano County Assistant Registrar of Voters John Gardner informed KQED. However as a normal rule, he encourages Solano voters to “name our workplace and discuss to employees so we will undergo the choices” or e mail them.
Your choices, which an elections staffer can go over with you, embody writing notes in your poll to make your intention clear (“i.e., add arrows to the right selection and write ‘I need this one’ subsequent to it or one thing like that,” Gardner mentioned, so the human reviewing your poll can perceive it). You additionally can have methods to obtain a brand new poll, together with requesting a very recent one, utilizing a pattern poll and even printing a brand new one your self from a safe web site.
“[W]e do have loads of choices for voters, however it’s actually greatest for them to get in contact with us to assist them perceive all the probabilities based mostly on their scenario and desires,” Gardner mentioned.
Sonoma
“Voters ought to put an X over the wrong selection and mark the right one,” mentioned Deva Proto, clerk-recorder-assessor and registrar of voters of Sonoma County. “Voters can even request a alternative poll, in the event that they really feel extra snug with that, or go to any in-person location to vote or get a alternative poll.”
And bear in mind, there’s at all times this feature …
Marin
Marin County voters “can X out the error and mark the right vote,” Lynda Roberts, registrar of voters, informed KQED. “So long as we will see their intent, we will depend the vote.”
Marin voters “shouldn’t preliminary or write their title subsequent to the change, nevertheless, since ballots are to stay nameless,” Roberts mentioned.
What if I simply need a new poll?
If you happen to’ve made a giant mistake in your poll — too large to repair — your greatest plan of motion could also be to concentrate on getting a brand new one. You possibly can:
- Name your county elections workplace and ask them to cancel that poll and concern a brand new one to you
- Go to your county elections workplace along with your spoiled poll throughout enterprise hours and vote proper there on the counter
- Make the most of the early voting choices out there in lots of counties
- Go to a voting web site on Election Day, flip in your spoiled poll there and get a brand new poll
You can even do that for those who’ve by chance broken your poll indirectly (espresso spills occur.)
What if I’ve issues with my signature?
While you’re completed filling out your poll, you have to signal the envelope (not the poll itself, as they’re meant to remain nameless.)
However just a few large errors folks could make with their signatures are:
- Forgetting to signal their poll envelope
- By chance signing the mistaken poll envelope of their family (i.e., mixing up your poll along with your accomplice’s or roommate’s poll) or
- Making a signature that doesn’t match the signature they made after they registered to vote.
Why wouldn’t your signature match the one on file? If you happen to registered to vote at a younger age, perhaps your signature has modified over time. Or maybe you registered to vote on the DMV and offered your signature on a display screen with a stylus, which doesn’t fairly replicate the way you’d make your signature with a pen on paper.
If you happen to registered this fashion, one easy strategy to keep away from any signature issues is to take a fast look on the signature that’s in your driver’s license or state ID — as a result of that’s often the one you need your poll signature to match.
Even for those who didn’t register on the DMV, that signature in your most up-to-date license or state ID continues to be very doubtless the one to emulate. That’s as a result of if you register to vote on-line, your county elections workplace electronically requests a duplicate of the signature the DMV presently has for you, and this info is repeatedly up to date.
To additional set your thoughts at relaxation, know that California isn’t an “actual match” state and doesn’t demand voters’ signatures 100% replicate the signature that’s on file.
What if I simply don’t know my ‘right’ signature I’m registered to vote with?
If you happen to’re actually fearful concerning the signature in your envelope not matching the signature you’re registered to vote with, there are two good options.
One: If it’s on or earlier than Oct. 20, you’ll be able to re-register to vote along with your present signature to ensure that the state now has your most up-to-date one on file. In case you are re-registering after Oct. 20, you’d want to finish the same-day voter registration course of (also called “conditional voting”) and request your poll in individual at your county elections workplace or polling location.
Two: In 2021, Kim Alexander, president of the nonpartisan California Voter Basis, informed us there’s one other answer for those who’re fearful about your signature: Go vote in individual, for those who’re in a position.
That’s as a result of the signature solely goes in your poll’s envelope — and for those who’re voting in individual, that poll goes straight into the poll field while not having an envelope in any respect.
“So if you need that satisfaction of seeing your poll drop within the field and know that it’s not going to get held up due to some signature concern, you’ll be able to go and vote in individual,” Alexander mentioned.
Thanks, KQED: I already mailed my poll, however now I’m paranoid about my signature. What if I messed it up?
Relaxation assured: There’s a complete system in place that will help you right your mistake.
In case your county’s election workplace detects a signature mismatch in your poll, they’ll attain out to you through mail to confirm and work with you to right it in order that your poll may be counted in spite of everything. It’s known as “curing” a poll.
This method can also be utilized when it seems to be like a member of a voter’s household might need signed their poll as a substitute of the voter. This occurs a shocking quantity when one family has a number of voters who all obtain a poll within the mail.
One strategy to get peace of thoughts: Signal as much as monitor your poll, and also you’ll discover out about any points along with your poll or your signature shortly.
I feel I put the mistaken date on my envelope
First off, that date must be the date you signed your envelope — not your date of start.
However for those who’re fearful you tousled the date, don’t fear. Elections officers mentioned that the date they’re actually on the lookout for is the date that the poll is postmarked to ensure it was submitted on time.
Election officers will solely really scrutinize the date you’ve written in the event that they obtain your poll after Election Day.
And for those who haven’t mailed your envelope but, it’s a straightforward repair: Simply clearly cross out the wrong date on the envelope and write within the right one above it.
What if I exploit assistive expertise to finish types?
Getting bodily help with filling out your poll from somebody you belief is at all times advantageous, whether or not you’re voting at residence or at a voting web site. You simply want to ensure your signature is your individual and matches the one you’re registered to vote with.
Disabled voters can even select to make use of the Distant Accessible Vote-by-Mail system to vote privately and independently at residence, utilizing their traditional assistive system on their residence pc to fill out the poll on their display screen after which print and mail it.
Each voting location in California can also be geared up with an accessible voting unit. Right here, voters who’re blind, have low imaginative and prescient or have a incapacity that impacts their dexterity can use an assistive system of their option to vote privately and independently.
How can I ensure that my mail-in poll will get there on time?
Keep in mind, one of many primary causes ballots are disqualified is as a result of voters mail them too late — both after mailboxes have been collected on Election Day or after Election Day itself.
To be counted on this election, your poll should be postmarked on Nov. 4 on the newest. Your poll has seven days — till Nov. 11 — to achieve your county elections workplace.
So on this election, it’s extra essential than ever to be sure to have a plan to vote on time — and for those who’re not voting in individual, which means ensuring your poll is in a USPS mailbox, a safe voting drop field, at a polling location or your county elections workplace by the point polls shut on Nov. 4.
If you happen to’re selecting to mail your poll through USPS, remember that the Postal Service should postmark your poll envelope by the top of Election Day in your vote to depend — and the final assortment at many mailboxes is 5 p.m. So if it’s getting late on Nov. 4, think about using a county drop field as a substitute of a USPS mailbox.
A number of different frequent poll errors to be careful for …
Ensure you use a black or blue pen: It reads higher, and it doesn’t gradual staff down after they should verify to see what voter intent was. (Don’t use a felt-tip or a Sharpie that bleeds by way of the paper and marks different pages in your poll.)
Don’t mail an empty envelope: It does occur. Protecting your envelope and your poll collectively in your house could be a useful approach of avoiding this downside. And, in fact, if you’re able to mail your poll, ensure that it’s truly contained in the envelope earlier than you seal it.
Don’t hassle with a stamp: Your poll envelope is postage-paid. You don’t want it.
And once more, be sure to’re filling out the poll — and signing the envelope — with your title on it: It’s frequent to see roommates or members of the family by chance combine up their poll supplies on the kitchen counter. So be sure to’re filling out the poll and signing the envelope that bears your title.
And bear in mind, you don’t have to vote by mail
Since 2020, each registered voter in California now receives a mail-in poll by default with out having to request it as in earlier years. However voting by mail continues to be one possibility open to you.
You possibly can nonetheless completely vote in individual, both at an early voting location earlier than or on Election Day. If you happen to stay in Alameda, Marin, Napa, San Mateo, Santa Clara or Sonoma, Vote Facilities in your county open on Oct. 25 (or earlier in some circumstances), the place you’ll be able to go in individual. Assigned voting areas will open slightly later in San Francisco, Contra Costa or Solano for these counties’ voters, though some early voting websites shall be out there in these counties — for instance, at your county elections workplace.
See the place early voting will open in your county.
Contact your county instantly
Throughout the Bay Space, elections officers are encouraging voters to achieve out — early — with any questions or considerations. Right here’s the contact info in your county:
- Alameda: For details about voting by mail, registration and polling place lookup, name 510-267-8683.
- Contra Costa: Name 925-335-7800 or e mail voter.companies@vote.cccounty.us.
- Marin: Name 415-473-6456 or go to the Marin County elections webpage to ship a kind e mail.
- Napa: Name 707-253-4321 or e mail the elections workplace at elections@countyofnapa.org.
- San Francisco: Name 415-554-4375 or e mail sfvote@sfgov.org.
- San Mateo: Name 888-762-8683 or e mail registrar@smcacre.org.
- Santa Clara: Name toll-free at 866-430-VOTE (8683) or e mail registrar@rov.sccgov.org.
- Solano: Name 707-784-6675 or 888-933-VOTE (8683). You can even e mail elections@solanocounty.com.
- Sonoma: Name 707-565-6800 or toll-free at 800-750-8683.
The state additionally has a full record of each county elections workplace in California.
Bookmark the state’s full record of deadlines for the Nov. 4 election.
