Voting in California has changed over the past few years. Six years ago, just over half of Californians were voting by mail. Now, it's more than 90 percent. That means somewhere north of ten million people in the state received their ballots before Election Day, and many of them voted early.
If you signed up to vote by mail, you'll get your ballot in an envelope with an official "Election Mail" seal on it. Read it over, and fill it out carefully. Try not to miss anything, because the pages can be long, and they're usually double-sided.
What if I make a mistake?
First of all, you should try not to make any mistakes on your ballot. If you do, and it's early enough, you might be able to request a new ballot from your county elections office.
But in a worst case scenario, where you make a mistake and there's no time to get a new ballot, you can try to cross out the mistake with an "X" and clearly mark your intended choice. Election workers will try their best to figure out what you meant, so they can count your vote.
How do I make sure my vote is counted?
Once you're done voting, most counties have a receipt or a stub you can tear off. You'll use that later to go online and see if your vote's been counted. The state also has a website where you can sign up for text alerts about your ballot.
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But first, here's the important part: Fold up your ballot, put it in the envelope, and sign the envelope — using the same signature that's on your driver's license. If you don't sign it, it won't count. Then, seal it up, and get ready to send it.
Where can I drop off my ballot?
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Once your ballot is completed and sealed, you have some choices. First of all, you can bring it to your county elections office. In San Francisco, that's on the ground floor of City Hall.
Most counties also have official ballot drop boxes outside government buildings and other convenient locations.
But as the name "vote by mail" implies, you can also just drop your ballot in the mail — at any U.S. Postal Service mailbox. Your ballot return envelope has the same official seal on it as the envelope your ballot arrived in, and that means the Postal Service will deliver it to your local election office with no stamps required. It will count as long as it's postmarked on or before Election Day.
Can I still vote in person?
Yes, you can — even if you registered to vote by mail.
In San Francisco, for example, you can bring your mail-in ballot to your assigned polling place, and you can either drop it off there, or you can trade it for an in-person ballot. Some other Bay Area counties will let you do that at any polling place.
If you lose your mail-in ballot, and there's no time to get a new one, you can vote a "provisional ballot" — which will get counted after Election Night, once officials confirm that you're registered, and make sure you didn't vote twice.
The polls are open until 8 p.m. on November 8th. Then we'll have live results on NBC Bay Area, and right here at nbcbayarea.com.
