Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
Half of California voters will vote by mail this time
http://www.mercurynews.com/elections/ci_21928258/election-2012-more-than-800-000-bay-areaAbout half of California's voters are expected to vote by mail this year, an 8 percent jump from the 2008 presidential election. Alas, for election officials, that does nothing to speed up the vote count if procrastinators hang on to their ballots until Election Day.
And that's just what voters tend to do more frequently in presidential election years, perhaps so -- unlike Hutchison -- they don't regret voting before a late October surprise.
Election Day may be just hours away, but more than 800,000 Bay Area voters won't be showing up at the polls Tuesday: They have already voted, as Californians in record numbers are trading the ballot box for the mailbox.
Polling places will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday, and in this presidential election year, they may still be mobbed -- especially considering California now has a record 18.2 million registered voters, up by more than 940,000 from this time four years ago.
Yet more and more voters like Helen Hutchison aren't taking chances: The Oakland woman will be working at the polls Tuesday but chose to mail in her ballot Oct. 20. "I much prefer to make my decisions on longer-term information rather than last-minute smears," she said.
And that's just what voters tend to do more frequently in presidential election years, perhaps so -- unlike Hutchison -- they don't regret voting before a late October surprise.
Election Day may be just hours away, but more than 800,000 Bay Area voters won't be showing up at the polls Tuesday: They have already voted, as Californians in record numbers are trading the ballot box for the mailbox.
Polling places will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday, and in this presidential election year, they may still be mobbed -- especially considering California now has a record 18.2 million registered voters, up by more than 940,000 from this time four years ago.
Yet more and more voters like Helen Hutchison aren't taking chances: The Oakland woman will be working at the polls Tuesday but chose to mail in her ballot Oct. 20. "I much prefer to make my decisions on longer-term information rather than last-minute smears," she said.
Also, in case you think some types of votes might not be counted, no:
Q: Are vote-by-mail and provisional ballots always counted – even in “landslide” elections?
A: Yes, every valid ballot returned to county elections officials by 8:00 p.m. on Election Day is
counted in every election, regardless of the ballot type or the margin in any particular contest.
A: Yes, every valid ballot returned to county elections officials by 8:00 p.m. on Election Day is
counted in every election, regardless of the ballot type or the margin in any particular contest.
http://www.sos.ca.gov/admin/press-releases/2012/db12-107.pdf
And you can check your ballot online in most California counties too (I did, I always do --it works!)
http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/ballot-status/
1 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
= new reply since forum marked as read
