California sending ballots to all voters
SACRAMENTO >> The Nov. 3 election will test Californians’ commitment to voting by mail as the nation’s most populous state offers far fewer in-person polling places, hoping that during a pandemic voters will choose to cast ballots from the safety of their mailboxes.
If it doesn’t work, the state could see long lines and frustrated voters on Election Day compounded by coronavirus protocols that will make voting in-person slower in a year expected to draw a big turnout. Californians have been voting by mail for years, each election showing a steady increase of participation. In March, more than 72% of votes cast in the state’s primary came through the U.S. Postal Service.
But voting by mail has not been embraced everywhere, most notably in Los Angeles, where more than 5.6 million people are registered to vote.
And this year public confidence in voting by mail has been shaken, with Republican President Donald Trump publicly criticizing the process while some Democratic leaders have worried financial troubles at the U. S. Postal Service could delay delivery of ballots and disenfranchise voters.
Still, California has gone all-in on voting by mail in 2020. For the first time, county election offices are sending a ballot to every active registered voter. Plus, the state Legislature
changed the law to say that, as long as ballots are postmarked by Nov. 3, they can arrive at county election offices up to 17 days after the election and still be counted.
“Nov. 3 is technically Election Day, but we have to start thinking about this as simply the last day to vote,” Secretary of State Alex Padilla said. “We need to vote early.”
But will it be enough to convince more people to vote by mail?
Ca lifor nia ha s more than 21 million people registered to vote, the most ever. Polls show voters from both major parties are energized about the election, featuring the pivotal presidential contest and, in California, a dozen statew ide ballot initiatives on hot-button issues including affirmative action, property taxes, workers’ rights, rent control and harsher penalties for criminals.
“This is the most enthusiastic electorate we’ve ever seen,” said Paul Mitchell, vice president of Political Data Inc., a bipartisan voter data company based in California.
A ll of that points to more people voting in this
election. But the pandemic means many traditional polling places — community centers, retirement homes, and in some cases people’s garages — won’t be available this year.
To accommodate large crowds of voters and follow public health guidelines on physical distancing voters in big cities will be able to cast ballots at sports arenas, including Dodger and SoFi stadiums in Los Angeles, the Oakland Coliseum, Levi’s Stadium in San Jose and the Golden One Center in Sacramento.
Early voting star ted Monday and in the runup many smaller counties struggled to find suitable sites. Santa Barbara County has had as many as 86 in- person polling places. This year, it will have 35. And for the first time taxpayers are having to pay to rent some facilities — up to $6,000 to convert hotel ballrooms into voting centers.
“We’re going to have to, obviously, wipe down everything after they vote,” Santa Barbara Registrar of Voters Joe Holland said. “If they don’t want to wear a mask, we’ll allow them to vote outside and we’ll assist them with that.”