What Happens If You're Registered To Vote In The Wrong County In Caliornia

I Made a Error on my Election. How Do I Ready It?

October ix, 2020

Failed to salve commodity

Delight try once again

What happens if you've made an error on your ballot? And how can you fix it? (Wallace Chuck/Pexels)

Leer en español

See KQED's election results as they come in

It happens to everyone. You were so excited to make full out your 2020 election, ripping open the envelope with glee. You've researched the candidates and measures, filling in the ovals on your ballot for your preferred selections. You were ready to put information technology in the post or drive it to a election drop box and then... it hits yous: you accidentally filled in the incorrect bubble. Or forgot to sign. Or put the incorrect engagement.

First off, don't fret. There are steps you can take — even if you lot've already submitted your ballot.

But chiefly, each county is slightly unlike on how they'd adopt you address those mistakes. So if you have specific questions well-nigh your election, y'all can ever contact your local Registrar of Voters to get communication and instructions.

"I filled in the wrong candidate"

If you haven't submitted your ballot still:

You have some options. Some counties, similar Alameda, ask that you lot actually contact them outset if y'all make a serious mistake — including voting for the wrong candidate — so they can send you lot a replacement ballot. So, wherever you live, it's a practiced idea to check with your local elections office first to meet what they recommend if you made a fault.

Other county elections officials ask that you cross out the incorrect selection and fill in the correct selection — and brand information technology as articulate as possible what you practice desire to vote for. For case, you could cross out the selection with a conspicuously marked X and write a note next to the option yous practice want. Yous could put a "YES" adjacent to the candidate you want and a "NO" next to the candidate you don't want.

If your ballot has ii selections in a category where yous can only vote for one candidate, elections officials refer to that as "over-voting." And when these situations come up, the ballot is flagged for review.

"Whenever there'due south an over-vote in a contest, those cards are actually removed from the processing, and and so we practise a manual review," said John Arntz, managing director of elections in San Francisco.

If elections officials can sympathize what the voter intended, they'll recreate the marked ballot on a clean one and submit that one for tallying. If non, they tin reach out to you lot during what'southward called an "adjudication" process to ensure they empathize what you lot wanted.

If y'all take already submitted your ballot:

Unfortunately, there's no fashion to correct a election once information technology has been bandage and submitted to elections officials. And then you'll want to get in touch with your county elections office to speak through your specific situation. Find out how to contact your county.

A San Francisco resident drops their mail-in ballot into a mailbox on Oct. vi, 2020. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)

"I put the wrong engagement on my envelope"

If y'all haven't submitted your election withal:

Information technology'due south easy. Just conspicuously cross out the incorrect date on the envelope and write in the correct one above it.

Retrieve, it should exist the date that yousigned your ballot. Many people take been request the states via our "enquire a question" box if that appointment is meant to be the voter's birthdate. It's non.

If you lot take already submitted your ballot:

Don't worry. Elections officials say that the appointment they're really looking for is the date that the ballot is postmarked, to make sure it was submitted on time.

"Nosotros don't even look at information technology because we received the ballot prior to the Election Day," said John Gardner, assistant registrar of voters for Solano County. "It's when nosotros receive your election after the Ballot Day, like maybe you mailed it Monday before Ballot 24-hour interval. That's when nosotros have to start looking at postmarks on the ballot, or appointment that the voter signed the envelope, to make up one's mind if nosotros can count the election or non."

So: equally long as you lot mail service or drop off your ballot on Election Day, and it's postmarked by Nov. 3 at the latest, y'all don't demand to worry about the engagement — because officials already know they're on time.

And don't forget: mailing a ballot too late on Election Day itself — by placing it into a mailbox that'due south already had its last collection of the day, or taking it to a post office that'due south already airtight — will hateful that ballot is postmarked on the 24-hour intervalafterwards Election Mean solar day, and therefore too late to be counted. Don't make this mistake.

"I forgot to sign it"

If you haven't submitted your election withal:

Go alee and sign it! And remember to date the envelope with the date of signing.

We've had a lot of questions from our audition about how to find out the "right" signature for your ballot. You tin check the actual proper name you're registered to vote with online, although yous can't cheque the signature there. Withal, it's really likely that your voting signature is the one on your California commuter'southward license or your state ID. That's because when you register to vote online, your county elections office electronically requests a copy of the signature the DMV currently has for you, and this data is regularly updated.

So the best way to start is to take a await at the signature that's on your commuter's license or state ID, as it's likely the 1 on file.

And if you're concerned that your signature has changed over the years, here's something that might reassure you: if yous've done any business at the DMV between now and when yous registered to vote that required your signature, that new signature is also on file.

"Anytime anyone makes a transaction at DMV and signs something, that signature is also on file," said Evelyn Mendez, public and legislative affairs manager at the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters. "That's the most current signature that we accept on record."

But if you nevertheless don't think that'southward the right one, or if you have physical difficulty signing, there are a few things you can do. You can:

Re-register to vote with your electric current signature, to be sure that the state now has your most recent one on file
Have someone sentry you making your marker, and sign on the ballot's "witness" line
Contact your county elections office for further assistance. You lot can also call the California Voter Hotline at (800) 345-VOTE (8683).

And if you lot're worried about whether or non you lot should include your centre initial? Don't worry.

"I think sometimes people get confused considering they hear about other states where it has to be an verbal match, and it'due south not an verbal friction match here," said Lynda Roberts, registrar of voters for Marin County. "The overall signature just has to compare to what nosotros have on file."

In fact, co-ordinate to the California code of regulations, "exact matches are not required for an elections official to confirm a valid signature."

"The example I always use is like my proper noun," said Tim Dupuis, registrar of voters for Alameda Canton. "I sometimes sign my name as Tim, I sometimes sign that sign it every bit Timothy ... But I make my 'T' the same manner, and I make the 'D' in Dupuis, my concluding proper noun, the same.

"Then when they see those things, when they meet those points with consistency in the signature, we're going to err in the favor of the voter and that's going to we're going to validate that voter."

If you have already submitted your ballot:

You lot tin can contact your county elections office to let them know about the issue. Simply rest assured, in that location is a whole procedure for resolving bug with your signature on the ballot.

If your canton'southward election office detects a signature mismatch on your ballot, they'll attain back out to you via mail to verify and work with yous to right information technology and so that your ballot can exist counted afterwards all. The earlier you vote, the earlier the effect can be resolved. Though there is a long catamenia immune for this signature "curing process" later on the election — near three weeks.

You could also sign up to track your ballot's progress online, and allow for email and phone notifications.

A Few Other Common Issues...

Nosotros asked your local elections officials for mutual issues to watch out for on the election. Here's what they said:

Make sure you're filling out and signing the ballot with your name on it: Information technology'due south common to see partners or roommates accidentally mix upwards their ballots. So make sure yous're signing the document that bears your name.

Brand certain you use a black or blue pen: It reads better, and it doesn't slow workers down when they have to check to see what voter intent was. (Don't employ a felt tip or a Sharpie that bleeds through the newspaper and marks other pages on your ballot.)

There are many means to vote: If y'all don't want to put your ballot in the mail, you can drib it off at a drop box or become in person to a polling place in your county. Discover your closest driblet box or voting location.

Don't blitz, but vote as early as you can: As soon as your ballot is submitted, ballot officials can brainstorm processing your ballot and contacting you if there are any issues. And while no ballots will be counted before polls close on Election Day, submitting your election before means it'll exist prepared to be counted before, and makes information technology more than likely that your vote volition be included in the commencement results announced on election night.

Then, take your time, but try to get those ballots in as before long as possible.

Contact Your County Direct

Across the Bay Area, elections officials are encouraging voters to attain out — early — with any questions or concerns. Here'south the contact information for your county:

Alameda: For information about voting by mail, registration and polling place lookup, call 510-267-8683.
Contra Costa: Call 925-335-7800 or email voter.services@vote.cccounty.us
Marin: You tin can call (415) 473-6456 or go to the Marin County elections folio to ship a form email.
Napa:Phone call 707-253-4321 or e-mail the Election office at elections@countyofnapa.org
San Francisco: You tin get in touch with the section by calling (415) 554-4375 or emailing SFVote@sfgov.org
San Mateo:Call 888-762-8683 or email registrar@smcacre.org
Santa Clara: You tin can call toll-free at i-866-430-VOTE (8683) or email registrar@rov.sccgov.org
Solano:Telephone call 707-784-6675 or (888) 933-VOTE (8683). Y'all can besides e-mail elections@solanocounty.com
Sonoma:Telephone call 707-565-6800 or toll-complimentary at (800) 750-8683.