State lawmakers set in-person voting rules
SACRAMENTO — Worried about the unpredictable Coronavirus wreaking havoc on the November election, the California Legislature on Thursday sent a bill to Gov. Gavin Newsom that would let counties offer fewer in-person polling places in exchange for opening the sites earlier.
The bill, which Newsom is expected to sign, follows a law the governor signed in June requiring counties to mail ballots to every active registered voter ahead of the Nov. 3 election. It’s part of state officials’ strategy to keep people from gathering at polling places and risk further spread of the Coronavirus that has killed nearly 9,900 Californians.
“This November will have the most unusual election, at least in my lifetime, but there will be an election,” said state Sen. Tom Umberg, a Democrat from Santa Ana and the author of the bill.
While every active registered voter in California will get a ballot in the mail, some people must vote in person for various reasons, including lost or damaged mailed ballots, the need for language assistance or help due to a disability, or because they want to register to vote on Election Day, which California law allows at polling places.
Traditional polling places — community centers, retirement homes and in some cases people’s garages — have been hard to come by because of the pandemic. Sacramento County had 84 vote centers for the March 3 primary election but has only been able to secure locations for 39 vote centers for November, according to county spokeswoman Janna Haynes.
Senate Bill 423, approved Thursday by the state Senate, gives counties a workaround. It lets them merge precincts, as long as they keep the ratio of one precinct per 10,000 registered voters instead of the typical 1,000 voters. These consolidated polling places must be open from Saturday, Oct. 31, through Monday, Nov. 2, for at least eight hours each day and from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Election Day.
Counties will also be required to open one ballot drop-off location for every 15,000 registered voters for 28 days before the election.
As of Thursday, the nation’s most populous state had reported nearly 530,000 virus cases and nearly 9,900 deaths since the pandemic began, including 166 virus-related deaths reported Thursday.
But a technical problem with a database used to collect test information from labs means the state is missing data on virus infections throughout California. There was no update Thursday on the missing data, which state officials have acknowledged has caused them to undercount virus cases.
Newsom’s administration has not explained what caused the problem or said when it will be fixed.
The issue has created challenges for county public health officials who are trying to track and trace virus cases to prevent the spread of the illness. The problem also led the state to stop removing or adding to a list of counties facing more restrictions on businesses and schools.