Why am I getting a vote-by-mail ballot
for this year’s Presidential General Election?
For the November
2020 Presidential General Election, there is a greater emphasis on the
vote-by-mail option as a result of COVID-19 concerns with public gatherings. On
June 18, 2020, Governor Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 860, which mandates
that each registered voter in the State of California will receive a
vote-by-mail ballot for the November 3, 2020 election.
Voting by mail in
California is not new. In the past, it has been referred to as an “absentee
ballot.” In fact, approximately 70 percent of San Bernardino County voters
requested a mail-in ballot for the March 2020 Presidential Primary election.
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In previous elections I voted by
absentee ballot. Will I still be able to request an absentee ballot this year?
The new state
mandates require that every active registered voter will receive a vote-by-mail
ballot, which is the new term for “absentee ballot.” During this election,
there is no need to request your ballot to be mailed to you through “absentee.”
Everyone who is registered to vote will receive a vote-by-mail ballot.
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When will vote-by-mail ballots be sent
out?
Vote-by-mail
ballots will be delivered to the United States Postal Service by October 5 to
be mailed out to all existing registered voters. Eligible citizens who register
to vote after that date will be mailed a ballot within five days. You can
return your completed ballot in the prepaid postage envelope that is included
in the voter packet. Ballots submitted by mail must be postmarked by Tuesday,
November 3, 2020 in order to be counted.
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How can I get a replacement mail ballot
if I do not receive a ballot in the mail?
If you do not
receive a mail ballot, call the Registrar of Voters at (909) 387-8300 up until
October 27 to request that a replacement ballot be mailed to you and to confirm
your address on file is current.
Starting October 5, you may also visit the
Registrar of Voters at 777 East Rialto Avenue, San Bernardino to pick up a
replacement ballot.
Additional locations throughout the county where you can
get a replacement ballot will open from October 6 to 30. View a list of these
Early Vote sites at
www.SBCountyElections.com/Voting/Early.aspx.
Note:
The Registrar of Voters will suspend the mail ballot that you did not receive
so that someone else cannot use it to vote.
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I moved since the last time I voted,
how do I make sure the Registrar of Voters has my current address?
To confirm the
Registrar of Voters has your current address, you may use the
My Elections Gateway tool on the Registrar of Voters website at www.SBCountyElections.com. Or
you can also review your registration information on file with the Secretary of
State at
VoterStatus.sos.ca.gov.
If you need to
update your address, you may re-register to vote at
www.RegisterToVote.ca.gov.
If you moved from one residence to another and stayed within San Bernardino
County, you may also simply complete an In-County Change of Address Form. The
form may be submitted to the Registrar of Voters by email to
VoterRegistrations@SBCountyElections.com, mail, or in person.
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What is an early vote site?
An early vote
site is a location where a voter may pick up or vote a mail ballot. The
Registrar of Voters office will operate as an early vote site beginning October
5. An additional five sites will be open from October 26 to 30.
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Is vote-by-mail my only option?
No. Vote-by-mail
is just one option. In addition to mailing in your ballot, you can take your
voted ballot to a mail ballot drop-box location near you or vote in person at
polling locations.
Vote-by-Mail. You
will receive a ballot via mail for the November 3 election. Ballots will begin
to be mailed on October 5, 2020. A prepaid-postage envelope will be included in
which to return your ballot. Be sure to complete all required information on
the envelope. Instructions about what color pen to use (blue or black ink is
preferred; ballot scanners cannot see red ink), required signature, and dating
the return envelope will be included. You can track when your ballot is mailed,
received and counted through the Secretary of State’s
Where’s My Ballot
tracking system. You can sign up to receive notifications about the status of
your mail ballot via email, text message, and/or telephone call.
Mail Ballot
Drop-Box Locations. Voters can begin submitting completed ballots at drop-box
locations [available soon] starting October 6. There will be at least 70 ballot
drop-box locations countywide. A map of locations will be posted on the
Registrar of Voters website. Voted mail ballots may also be dropped off at the
Registrar of Voters office, any early vote site and any polling place.
Polling Places.
For voters who want to mark and cast their ballot in person, the County will
have 210 polling locations available this election.
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Will the County have vote centers?
No. The County
operates polling places. Each voter will be assigned to a neighborhood polling
place.
Vote centers –
where any voter in the county can cast a ballot – are authorized under the
Voter’s Choice Act. While the County has not adopted this model that became
available to all counties in 2020, the changes being made for this election to
address COVID-19 align with the Voter’s Choice Act model, including:
- A ballot will
be mailed to every active registered voter in the county
- Every voter may
still cast a ballot in-person
- At least one
polling place for every 10,000 voters must be open for four days
- At least one
secure ballot drop off location for every 15,000 voters will be available
starting October 6
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Can I be a poll worker?
Yes. You must be
at least 18 years of age and a registered voter in the State of California, and
read, write and understand English. You must commit to working four days
(October 31 through November 3, 2020), attend a mandatory two-hour training
session, and have transportation to the polling place. Poll workers in San
Bernardino County are paid a stipend for each day worked.
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How will mail-in ballots be managed?
Your official
mail ballot envelope has a barcode that identifies it as yours. When you return
your voted ballot to the Registrar of Voters, your mail ballot envelope is
scanned on a mail sorting machine, capturing an image of your signature.
County staff will
verify your signature on the mail ballot return envelope matches the signature
on file with your voter registration before the ballot is removed from the
envelope and counted with other mail ballots with high-speed, accurate
scanners. How you vote is private as there is nothing on the ballot itself that
identifies it as yours.
If you do not
sign the envelope or staff determines the signatures do not match, you will be
notified by letter at least eight days before the election is certified and be
given until two days before certification to resolve the issue. The Registrar
of Voters must certify the results of this election no later than December 1.
Double Voting.
Attempting to vote more than once is a crime punishable by up to three years in
prison. Elections Code section 18560(b). Voters who attempt to vote more than
once in an election will be referred to the County District Attorney for
investigation and potential prosecution.
If a voted mail
ballot is returned after a voter has already voted at the Registrar of Voters
office, an early vote site, or a polling place, the mail sorter recognizes and
rejects the second ballot. If a voter attempts to vote in person after
returning a voted mail ballot, election workers will check in the voter using
an electronic roster (or Poll Pad) that will identify that the voter has
already voted in the election. If the voter states he or she has not voted in
this election, the voter may vote a provisional ballot that is placed in an
envelope and County staff will research the voter’s participation in the
election before rejecting or accepting the provisional ballot.
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What do the following
terms on the
Election Results Report mean – Precincts Reported, Times Cast,
Undervotes, Overvotes, Designated Mail Ballot, and Unresolved Write-In?
Precincts Reported:
This is the number of voting precincts reporting results to the Registrar of
Voters on election night for each contest on the ballot. When 100 percent of
precincts have reported, all poll ballots have been delivered and counted. But,
it does not mean that all ballots have been counted as there are still many
ballots to process before the election results are certified, including mail
ballots, provisional ballots, conditional voter registration ballots, damaged
ballots that need to be duplicated, and other ballots that may need more
review.
Times Cast: Not
all ballots in the county contain all contests in the county. All ballots will
contain State propositions and general election contests for U.S. President and
statewide and countywide offices and measures. However, contests for city
councils, school boards, and other local contests appear only on the ballots of
registered voters within those jurisdictions. For a specific contest on the
ballot, times cast is the number of ballots cast containing that contest. It
also equates to the number of voters eligible to vote in that contest who cast
a ballot.
Undervotes: An
undervote occurs when an eligible voter chooses not to cast a vote or votes in
a specific contest. For example, in some contests for city council, eligible
voters may vote for up to three candidates. If the voter only votes for one
candidate in that city council contest, one valid vote and two undervotes will
be recorded.
Overvotes: An
overvote occurs when a voter marks too many votes in a specific contest. If in
the example above – a vote for up to three candidates city council contest – a
voter votes for four candidates, three overvotes and no valid votes will be
recorded.
Doing the math: In the above example of a vote for up to
three candidates contest, the following mathematical equation is true:
Times Cast multiplied by 3 votes = Undervotes plus Overvotes
plus Total Votes.
Designated Mail Ballot:
If 88 days before an election, a voting precinct does not have more than 250
registered voters, the Registrar of Voters does not assign these voters to a
polling place and mails a ballot to all voters in that precinct pursuant to
Elections Code section 3005. These voters may still vote in person at the Registrar
of Voters, an early vote site, or any polling place.
Unresolved Write-In:
To efficiently produce election night results, votes in a write-in space on
ballots will not be reviewed on election night. These votes are tallied as
Unresolved Write-Ins. The Unresolved Write-In tally may include:
- Votes for qualified
candidates whose names appear on the ballot
- Votes for qualified
write-in candidates
- Names of persons that
did not file candidacy papers
- Stray
marks
The Unresolved Write-Ins are reviewed during the canvass. Upon
completion of this review, all valid votes for qualified candidates will be
added to the election results and votes for unqualified candidates will be
reported as Undervotes.
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If my signature has changed since I
first registered to vote will my ballot still be counted?
Your signature on
the mail ballot return envelope and your signature on file with your voter
registration do not need to be an exact match. County staff comparing your
signature will look for identifiable similarities. If you believe your
signature has significantly changed since you registered, you may re-register
or provide a new signature.
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