Complying with Voting Laws in California

With the Presidential General Election coming up in less than two weeks, how about a quick summary of selected voting laws in the State of California for voters here in the Ventura County area. The following is a summary from the California Secretary of State's "Voting Law Compliance Handbook: A Voter's Guide to Safeguard California's Election Process" updated April 2016.

Voting at the Polls

Making the time to vote: The polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Election Day. If you work a long shift and are unable to get to the polls to vote in a statewide election, California state law provides up to two hours of paid time off to vote. These hours must be at the beginning or end of your normal shift and you must give your employer two working days notice. 

Rewards for voting: Can the local donut shop offer a free donut if you show them that you've voted in the Presidential Election? NO! Say what!? No free donut?? Nope. Federal law prohibits anything of value given in exchange for proof of voting if there is a federal office (e.g. President, U.S. House, U.S. Senate) on the ballot. In a state or local only election, the donut offering would be o.k., just as long as it wasn't given to bribe you to vote (or not vote) for a particular candidate or measure. Speaking of donuts, or doughnuts, as it were, the new Krispy Kreme in Oxnard opened last month.

Electioneering: It is illegal to promote a candidate or measure within 100 feet of a polling place. So if you see signs or other promotional materials in the parking lot at a polling place, that is illegal. And on a side note, California law makes it illegal to "photograph, video record, or otherwise record a voter entering or exiting a polling place." So you best not be selfie-ing at a crowded polling place. 

Voting by Mail

Death and Voting:  Hypothetically, let's just say my spouse passed away two weeks ago but I received her absentee ballot in the mail. I knew who she planned to vote for, so I turned in her ballot along with mine. This is o.k., right? WRONG! You cannot vote for your deceased spouse, nor anyone else that is deceased for that matter. That said, if your spouse had completed the ballot and signed the envelope before passing, that would a legitimate ballot, as the vote-by-mail voting period opens 29 days before the election.

Returning Vote by Mail Ballots (from the Ventura County Clerk/Recorder): If you mail your absentee ballot in, allow for seven days' delivery if you can; that said, the ballot must be postmarked by Election Day and received no later than November 14, 2016. Otherwise, you can return your ballot to any of the 10 City Clerk offices in Ventura County, to the Ventura County Government Center in Ventura or at the Thousand Oaks Library. Or, you can bring them to any polling place by 8 p.m. on Election Day.

Counting the Ballots

Can I Watch? Yes, you can watch the entire process, from opening of the vote-by-mail ballot envelopes to the counting of ballots on election night, by law.  But perhaps contact the Ventura County Clerk/Recorder first.

Campaign Do's and Don'ts

Use of State Seal: It is considered election fraud to use an official government seal in campaign literature. This should be reported to the Election Fraud Investigation Unit at 916.657.2166 or call the Ventura County Clerk/Recorder.

Paycheck Inserts: It is illegal in California to attempt to influence employees to vote for or against something by inserting something in your paycheck envelope.

These are just some of the elections laws in the State of California. For more complete information, visit www.sos.ca.gov/elections.

November 8, 2016 Presidential General Election Registration and Key Voting Dates

The State of California makes it extremely simple to register to vote online at registertovote.ca.gov for this coming November 8, 2016 Presidential General Election.

The system will search the DMV database for your California driver license or ID card, date of birth and last four digits of your SSN. The Ventura County Clerk and Recorder Elections Division will contact you when the registration is approved or if additional information is needed. See how easy it is at THIS LINK.

You can also register to vote the old fashioned way by picking up a paper voter registration application at the Ventura County elections office, library, DMV or post office. More information at www.sos.ca.gov/elections/elections_vr.htm.

In California, the deadline to register to vote is 15 days before Election Date. Thus, to vote in the November 8th election your registration must be electronically submitted or postmarked by October 24th. 

As of August 22, 2016*, there were 419,869 registered voters in Ventura County, up from 412,924 on June 9th. You can register as Democrat (175,256; up from 169,759), Republican (139,129; up from 138,663), Non Partisan (85,638; up from 84,615) and Other (Green, Libertarian, Peace and Freedom, American Independent) (19,846; down from 19,887).

* Update as of 10/8/16: 428,296 registered; 178,028 Democrat, 140,343 Republican, 89,190 Non Partisan and 20,735 Other.

Turnout for the 2012 General Election was 77.39%, with 426,948 registered voters and 330,419 votes cast. Turnout for the 2016 Presidential Primary Election was 51.79%, with 413,045 registered voters and 213,914 votes cast.

Visit recorder.countyofventura.org/elections to learn more information about Ventura County elections.

Registering to Vote in California Takes Just a Couple of Minutes Online

The 2016 primary election took place this past Tuesday, June 7th. The U.S. Presidential election is Tuesday, November 8, 2016.

There are currently 412,924 registered voters in Ventura County, consisting of 138,663 Republicans, 169,759 Democrats, 84,615 Non Partisan and 19,887 Other. Turnout for the primary election was 47.76% (updated), which is actually a significant improvement over the Presidential primary in 2012 at 32.9%. But inversely, of course, it means that a majority of registered voters in Ventura County still did NOT vote in the primary.

The estimated 2015 population of Ventura County was just over 850,000, with roughly 70% age 18 and older. This translates into roughly 600,000 residents eligible to vote in Ventura County, This means that for every two registered voters in Ventura County, there is one unregistered voter. It also means that for every voter in the primary, there were two eligible citizens who did not take part in the voting process.

With all that said, it certainly is EASY to register to vote in California. You can register in less than five minutes online at registertovote.ca.gov. And you can also, as I did, re-register if you would like to change political affiliation, or perhaps change to "No Party Preference."

The screenshots below show you the process. You of course must be an 18+ year old U.S. Citizen on election day, a California resident, and not be deemed incompetent to vote nor happen to be a convicted felon in jail or on parole.

California Online Voter Registration - Home Page

Eligibility (1 of 3)

Eligibility (2 of 3)

Eligibility (3 of 3) - If you want no party preference, click the "No" box.

You're done! Easy peasy!

Key Dates Announced for June 7, 2016 Presidential Primary Election in Ventura County

Ventura County Clerk Recorder/Registrar of Voters Mark Lunn has announced key dates for the June 7, 2016 Presidential Primary Election regarding candidate filing, nomination documents and Vote By Mail Ballots.

Candidates may submit signatures of registered voters in lieu of the filing fee. Signatures in-lieu of the filing fee may be obtained from the Ventura County Elections Division beginning Monday, January 4, 2016, for the following offices (subject to change):

Voter-Nominated: President/Vice President, United States Senator, United States Representative in Congress: 24th, 25th, 26th, and 30th Congressional Districts, Member of the State Senate: 19th and 27th State Senate, and Member of the State Assembly: 37th, 38th, 44th, and 45th Assembly Districts.

Nonpartisan: Judge of the Superior Court and Ventura County Board of Supervisors: 1st, 3rd, and 5th Supervisorial Districts.

Signatures in-lieu of filing fee for all offices, with the exception of the office of Judge of the Superior Court, must be filed at the Ventura County Elections Division by 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, February 25, 2016. Candidates for the office of Judge of the Superior Court must file their signatures by 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, February 10, 2016.

Official nomination documents for candidates may be obtained beginning Tuesday, February 16, 2016, as February 15, 2016 falls on a holiday, at the Ventura County Elections Division, Lower Plaza, Hall of Administration, 800 South Victoria Avenue, Ventura. Official nomination documents must be filed with the Ventura County Elections Division by 5:00 p.m. on Friday, March 11, 2016.

Information regarding filing for these offices and the filing fee amounts may be obtained by calling the Ventura County Elections Division at (805) 654-2664, or by visiting the Ventura County Elections Division website: www.venturavote.org.

Vote By Mail Ballots for the June 7, 2016 Presidential Primary Election will be available beginning Monday, May 9, 2016 through May 31, 2016. Voter registration will close on Monday, May 23, 2016. Voter registration is available online at www.registertovote.ca.gov. Voters may also call the Elections Division to request a voter registration card be mailed to them.

November 6, 2012 Presidential General Election Registration and Key Voting Dates

The State of California has made it easier to register to vote by offering online voter registration for this coming November 6, 2012 Presidential General Election.

To register online, visit rtv.sos.ca.gov/elections/register-to-vote to start the online process or learn more at registertovote.ca.gov. The system will search the DMV database for your California driver license or ID card, date of birth and last four digits of your SSN. The Ventura County Clerk and Recorder Elections Division will contact you when the registration is approved or if additional information is needed.

You can also register to vote the old fashioned way by picking up a paper voter registration application at the Ventura County elections office, library, DMV or post office. More info at www.sos.ca.gov/elections/elections_vr.htm.

To vote for the November 6th election you must register by October 22, 2012!

Beginning October 8th, you may vote at the County of Ventura Elections Division, 800 S. Victoria Avenue, Ventura, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Call 805.654.2664 or 800.500.3555 for additional information.

If you receive a Vote by Mail ballot, you may mail that in starting October 8th. However, keep in mind that Vote by Mail ballots must be received by the Elections Division office or any Ventura County polling place no later than 8 p.m. on Election Day. Completed Vote By Mail ballots may also be dropped off before Election Day at any of the 10 City Clerk’s offices countywide or in the 24-hour ballot drop off box located in front of the Hall of Administration at the Government Center in Ventura.

I love having the option of voting by mail. For many years I've been on "Permanent Vote by Mail" status and automatically receive my ballot so I can let it sit on my desk as I procrastinate until Election Day. If you want to receive a Vote by Mail ballot, either on a one-time or permanent basis, complete the form on the back page of the Sample Ballot you received in the mail. It must be received by 5 p.m. on October 30th (one day before HALLOWEEN!).

To find out if you are registered to vote, the Ventura County Clerk and Recorder Elections Division website has a handy tool where you type your name and date of birth. If you are registered, they tell you where your polling place is, not to mention the date you registered and what your party affiliation is (hmm, this seems overkill to me...if you know someone's name and birth date, you can find out their party affiliation).

I noticed when using the tool that you have to type the exact name you registered under. Nicknames or shortened names don't work. Visit recorder.countyofventura.org/elections/voter-lookups/am-i-a-registered-voter to check this feature out.

NOW GO ON, GET OUT THERE AND VOTE!

Register to Vote . . . Then Take the Time to Actually Vote!

About 79% of Ventura County residents that are eligible to vote actually register to vote.  Do your civic duty and register to vote! Visit www.sos.ca.gov/nvrc/fedform/ for an online form that you can complete and mail in. For additional information about voter registration, including timing deadlines, visit www.sos.ca.gov/elections/elections_vr.htm

You may register to vote in California if:

• You are a United States citizen
• You are a resident of California
• You are at least 18 years of age (or will be by the date of the next election)
• You are not in prison or on parole for a felony conviction. For more information on the rights of people who have been incarcerated, please see the Secretary of State's Voting Guide for Currently or Formerly Incarcerated Californians.
• You have not been judged by a court to be mentally incompetent

YOU HAVE UNTIL MONDAY, MAY 21ST TO REGISTER TO VOTE!!

But of that 79%...only 40% actually vote!  That's pitiful! Come on, register to vote...then VOTE! To make it easier on yourself, apply for a Permanent Vote by Mail status when you receive your Sample Ballot! That way, you never even need to visit a polling place to vote.

TO VOTE BY MAIL IN THE PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY ELECTION ON JUNE 5, 2012, YOUR APPLICATION MUST BE RECEIVED NO LATER THAN MAY 29TH.