With just seven weeks until the November election, California voters are facing uncertainty surrounding mail-in voting. The U.S. Supreme Court is currently weighing President Donald Trump‘s plan to limit universal mail-in voting, leaving many residents wondering about their voting options.
Despite the legal battle, California officials assure voters that mail-in voting will still be an option this year. They are encouraging residents to vote early and utilize various non-mail voting options to ensure their votes are counted.
California’s preparedness for the November election
California election officials are confident in their ability to administer the election, regardless of the Supreme Court’s ruling. County registrars are monitoring the court rulings while preparing to mail ballots as usual by the state’s October 5 deadline.
Local and state officials are urging voters to make a plan to vote early and consider using ballot drop-boxes and in-person voting sites if they have concerns about the United States Postal Service. Some counties, including Santa Cruz and Los Angeles are exploring additional options for voters, such as pop-up stations and mobile voting units.
Tricia Webber clerk and registrar of voters for Santa Cruz County and president of the California Association of County Election Officials stated, “Until there’s an answer, California counties are doing business as usual.”
The Trump administration’s proposed changes to USPS
In March President Trump issued an executive order seeking to give the federal government control over who receives mail-in ballots. The order prompted lawsuits from more than 20 Democratic attorneys general, including California’s Rob Bonta who argued that the Constitution allows only Congress and state governments to administer elections.
The federal district and appellate courts sided with the Democratic states, upholding a temporary injunction preventing the USPS from implementing any part of its plan while litigation continues. The central questions in the case remain unresolved, with the Supreme Court allowing the Trump administration to continue planning for the order’s implementation.
The USPS‘s proposal would create a system to track each voter’s ballot with a unique barcode and cross-reference it with a database of eligible registered voters. However, the portal for this system does not yet exist, and a whistleblower asserted that the process to develop and deploy it was “rushed,” “risky and haphazard” due to the “impossible timeframe.”
California’s stance on voter information requirements
Shirley Weber California’s secretary of state, has not stated whether the state would comply with the proposed voter information requirement. She emphasized that California’s election officials will continue to ensure that every eligible voter has the right to cast a mail ballot and have that vote count.
Last year, the U.S. Justice Department sued Weber and five other Democratic secretaries of state for refusing to turn over their unredacted voter files. A federal judge in Southern California dismissed that case in January.
Encouraging early voting amid uncertainty
Ironically, concerns about the USPS‘s reliability could facilitate what election officials and voting advocates have struggled to do for years—get people to vote earlier. Social media is now filled with posts urging people to vote early and use ballot drop boxes rather than rely on the mail.
Kim Alexander president of the California Voter Foundation noted, “This whole play may backfire. What you’re seeing now on social media in response to this court drama and this confusion are lots of people urging their friends to vote early—and that’s exactly what we’ve been saying.”
Voting earlier helps county election officials tabulate results more quickly on election night, which helps race callers like The Associated Press declare winners faster. Dropping off ballots several days before the deadline is the best way to help election officials count faster, as they can remove ballots from envelopes and prepare them for counting before Election Day.
“Fortunately, we give voters lots of options, and that’s really going to work to California’s benefit,” Alexander said. “Other states do not have the kind of robust process that creates lots of redundancies and avenues for voters to vote.”
