Most California voters will cast their ballots in the June 2 primary without ever setting foot in a polling place. They will fill out a vote-by-mail ballot at the kitchen table, sign the envelope and drop it in a mailbox. The process is usually that simple.
But a handful of details about timing, postmarks and signatures can trip up even experienced mail-in voters; and turn what should be a counted ballot into a rejected one.
Postmark deadline
California ballots must be postmarked by Election Day to count, and they must arrive at the county elections office no later than seven days after, by Tuesday, June 9.
Election officials across the Sacramento region say the safest approach is to mail a ballot well before the deadline. Armando Salud-Ambriz, the Nevada County registrar of voters, said he gives the same advice every cycle.
"Always put it in the mail four days prior to election day, so that Friday or that Saturday," Salud-Ambriz said.
Beyond ensuring a timely postmark, mailing early also gets a ballot into the first batch of results released after polls close on Election Night. Ballots that arrive later are counted in the days, and sometimes weeks, that follow.
Placer County registrar of voters Ryan Ronco said voters still holding their ballot a week before Election Day should consider another return method.
"You should be thinking about not using the post office to return that ballot to an elections office," Ronco said.
Election Day mail
The U.S. Postal Service drew attention last fall when it reminded election officials nationwide that ballots dropped in a mailbox far from a regional postal hub may not be postmarked the same day. Ballots picked up after the final pickup time, or from areas more than 50 miles from a processing facility, can carry a next-day postmark. That means the ballot would not count.
Salud-Ambriz said the notification was not a new rule.
"It was more of a clarification nationwide as to what was already happening," he said.
Voters who hold onto their ballot until Election Day can take it inside a post office and ask the clerk at the counter to postmark it on the spot. Postal employees may refer to the action as "canceling" the ballot, but the result is the same — an Election Day postmark.
Voters can also bypass the mail entirely by dropping their ballots off at any official ballot drop box, vote center or county elections office. Drop box and vote center locations are listed on each county's elections website.
Signatures
A signature is required on the return envelope of every vote-by-mail ballot. County election workers compare it to a signature on file in voter records. A mismatched signature can prevent a ballot from being counted, though counties are required to contact voters and give them a chance to correct it. Voters have 21 days after Election Day to fix the problem.
Ronco said counties also keep a long history of voter signatures, not just the most recent, to account for natural changes to signatures.
Ballot tracking
California voters can sign up for the Secretary of State's "Where's My Ballot?" service, which sends text, email or phone notifications when a ballot is mailed, received and counted.
Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Election Day, Tuesday, June 2. Vote centers in Voter's Choice Act counties — including Sacramento, Placer and Yolo — opened on a staggered schedule beginning May 23. Voters can register and cast a ballot at any vote center or county elections office through Election Day.