ENCINITAS, CA — If you haven’t already, it’s not too late to vote today!
Polling is open until 8pm. Click here to find your voting center.
Early voting has been dismal in the California primaries, meaning that a small number of voters can determine the outcome of several major elections. Only 13 percent of registered voters cast their ballots on the Saturday leading up to Tuesday’s primary, according to Political Data Inc.
Find out what’s happening in Encinitaswith free, real-time updates from Patch.
All registered voters in California should have received their ballots in the mail a few weeks ago. Once you’ve made your choice — see here for our complete guide to candidates and the main voting process) — you have three options for returning your signed, sealed, and stamped ballots earlier today.
You can submit your ballots at any of the voting centers in San Diego County, vote in person or submit your ballots at an approved ballot box location in Encinitas. Find the nearest polling center and drop box here.
Find out what’s happening in Encinitaswith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Drop boxes are relatively new and allow voters to place ballots in a place where they are automatically considered on time. In California, mailed ballots must be received by June 14. That means that voters who rely on the often slow US Postal Service may be stressed about whether or not their ballots will arrive on time.
Currently, California law requires jurisdictions to provide at least one drop box per 30,000 registered voters. Some districts may require one drop box per 15,000 registered voters.
Drop boxes should be “safe containers established by county or city and county election officials.” Drop boxes are clearly marked and available 24/7 to 8pm. Tuesday when they are locked.
Starting in the 2020 election, the drop box has been trapped in a partisan voting vortex. Proponents argue that they are expanding access to voting. But opponents argue – without evidence – that they were not properly secured and contributed to electoral fraud.
Starting in 2020, a number of Republican campaigns and legislatures are trying to limit the drop box. In 2020, President Donald Trump’s campaign and the Republican National Committee sued Pennsylvania over the use of drop boxes, arguing that they were not properly monitored and vulnerable to fraud. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court rejected the argument.
Officials in Ohio and Texas also ruled that counties can only have one drop box per county, even in counties with more than 1 million residents. Both rules have been upheld by the court.
In the 2022 election, more states are trying to limit its use through voting initiatives and new laws.
In California in 2020, Republicans erected more than 50 unofficial and unverified drop boxes statewide, mainly near churches, gun shops, and Republican offices in conservative parts of the state. The then Secretary of State Alex Padilla ordered them closed, but the California GOP refused. Hector Barajas, spokesman for the California Republican Party, said they were not illegal because the state did not prohibit what he called “the vote.”
City News Service contributed to this report.
