Beating the election day rush: Here’s how to vote today in California

On Tuesday, voters will decide whether to renew Proposition 50. But if you’re willing to vote in person, you don’t have to wait. You can easily get in early in the day in most parts of California.

Where you can vote in person on Monday

In Los Angeles County alone, there are 251 vote centers that will be open from 10 AM to 7 PM on Monday. (They will be open again on Tuesday, the Day of Kemele, from 7 AM to 8 PM) at the polling stations, or re-register to vote and re-register to vote temporarily, which will be counted after the officials confirm the registration.

“Avoid rushing,” said Dean Logan, La County Registrar-Recorder / County Clerk. “Make a plan to vote early.”

Also on Monday, San Diego County vote centers are open from 8 AM to 5 PM; Orange County’s 65 polling places are open from 8 AM to 8 PM; and Riverside County’s 55 polling stations and Ventura County’s Nine County polling stations between 9 AM and 5 PM

All these polling stations will also be open on election day Tuesday from 7 am to 8 pm

Other counties with large populations in the same voting system include Santa Clara, Alareda, San Mateo, Marnous, SONOMA, YOLO, Madera, Kings, NOPA and Huboldt counties.

Some counties have fewer in-person polls on Monday

San Bernardino County, however, has six designated polling stations. They are open Monday from 8 AM to 5 PM, and on election day from 7 AM to 8 PM except for San Bernardino County residents who want to vote in person.

In Santa Barbara County, if you lost or damaged your mail-in ballot, you can request a replacement ballot at the County election offices in Santa Barbara, Santa Maria or Lompoc. Alternatively, voters can cast their ballots at their local polls on Tuesday.

How to Discard Your Vote-Mail Voting

All registered Californian voters are mailed to vote by mail. There are various ways to drop it off – by mail, or through a County Ballot drop box or polling place.

Ballot Drop box or polling place

Be sure to cast your ballot in a secured box, or at a polling station, by 8 PM on Tuesday. You can check the locations of the ballot boxes in California Secretary of State Registrar of State Website or Los Angeles, San Diego, Orafgera, Santa Barnardino, Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties).

In LA County alone, there are 418 drip boxes.

You can drop off your ballot at any polling place or ballot drop box within California, according to the Secretary of State’s Office.

Sending your bavot

You can also mail your ballot via the US Postal Service. No stamps are required. Note that your ballot must be postmarked by Tuesday (and received by the County Elections Office within seven days).

But beware: Officials have warned that a recent change to the US Postal Service earlier this year could lead to later markings than you might expect.

In fact, government officials recently warned that, in large areas of California – except for the Metros of southern California, the San Francisco Bay area and the Post Office on Election Day may not be reported until a day later, on Wednesday. That would mean the voting is there to count.

Because of this, some officials recommend that – At this time – it is better to deliver your vote by e-mail with a VOOTE box through a secure box, a Voting center or a neighborhood polling station, rather than through the postal service.

“If you can’t do it at the Vote Center, you can go to any post office and ask the counter to stamp the ballot on your ballot to make sure you get credit for your vote on time,” the Office of Try. Gen. Robert Bonta said.

The most common reasons for voting are not listed

In the 2024 General Election, 99% of votes cast by email were accepted. But that means 122,000 votes, 13.2 million returned, are not counted in California.

Here are the top reasons why:
• Incompatible signature: 71,381 votes are not counted.
• Voting was not received on time: 33,016 votes could not be counted.
• No Ballot Signature: 13,356 Votes Not Counted.

If the voter did not sign their ballot, or the ballot signature is different from the recorded vote, election officials are required to reach out to the voter to resolve the missing or invalid signature.

Other reasons include the voter already voting, the voter forgetting to put the ballot in their envelope, or returning multiple ballots in one envelope.