The state of California is sending out the last of its thousands of mail-in ballots to voters and preparing to open in-person voting sites, about four weeks ahead of the November Midterm Elections.
At the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters Monday, employees were on a deadline to get localized information pamphlets on candidates and issues out to residents.
“All the English are going out. It is about a million books. And then afterwards we will be sending out in languages that we’ve received: Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese and Tagalog,” said Mike Fong, voting systems logistics manager.
While many voters expressed confidence in the mail-in ballot system, some say they worry about possible tampering or behind the scenes voter manipulation.
“I just think that there might be a gray area where people are voting that aren’t necessarily using their own judgement or they’re kind of being forced to vote when they really haven’t studied the issues,” said a Santa Clara County resident.
South Bay State Assemblyman Evan Low, who conducted a state audit on the registrar of voters, said it’s still important to give every eligible voter a ballot and that the mail-in ballot process is clean.
“There are no conclusive findings time after time from the state or the local registrars that there is any type of tampering in the magnitude that would change the outcome of the elections,” said Low.
The registrar of voters said anyone who doesn’t get a ballot in the next week or so can contact her office.
“I don’t want voters to worry. Ballots can be voided. No one is going to vote your ballot and have your ballot counted,” said Shannon Bushey of the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters. “You can get a replacement ballot.”
But maybe the biggest worry for the upcoming election is voter apathy.
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In Santa Clara County, only 35% of eligible voters cast ballots in June and election officials point out that means a third of the voters made the decisions for everyone else.
