California’s deadline to register online to vote for the November election has passed. But if you missed it, that doesn't mean you can’t still vote in the upcoming election.
Butte County Registrar of Voters Keaton Denlay answered questions about voter registration and election processes. He shared the following information with NSPR to inform voters about the election processes.
Unregistered voters can cast a provisional ballot on Election Day
Denlay said those who have not registered can still cast a ballot in person at a Voter Assistance Center.
“If anyone finds out that they are not registered or that they are registered at the wrong address, they can go to any of our Voter Assistance Centers, and they will be able to register and vote using a conditional ballot,” he said.
Officials must verify the registration information and ensure that the registered voters have yet to vote in this election before the vote can be counted.
Some voter registration information can be accessed by campaigns
Voters' party affiliation is not a public record, but Denlay said that information can still be requested for certain purposes.
“If somebody was requesting a voter file for political, journalistic or scholar purposes, if they're doing some sort of a study or a poll or something like that, they would be able to get a voter's name, address, contact information, party,” he said.
Bulk lists of voter registration information are also available to eligible parties.
Political candidates, especially local candidates, might be looking for information about voters in a specific school district, or city council district and they can limit their request to what they need.
They are eligible to get information for the entire county, however, if they are using it for appropriate purposes, such as campaigning or conducting a study on voter turnout.
Due to confidentiality limitations, date of birth, the last four digits of social security numbers and signatures are not made available.
Limitations on information used in campaign materials
There are regulations that restrict the use of misleading information or materials in campaigns. The California elections code prevents a campaign or a person from distributing false information to voters, such as lying about the date of Election Day or voting locations.
Other restrictions are in the civil code. Defamation is illegal, and there are limits on what can be said about opposing candidates.
Campaigns may be subject to liabilities for spreading misinformation with the intent to mislead or disenfranchise voters, or saying anything that is patent and false about other individuals.
Notification of election results
Election results will start being posted around 8:15 p.m. on Nov. 5 and will be regularly updated.
The Butte County Registrar’s office does not make any election projections, but it is required to post updates to election results as they become available.
California recently passed a new law where election results are not allowed to be declared final or certified until 28 days after the election. This law will be implemented for the first time this election season.
How this year’s turnout compares to the last election
As of Oct. 24, Butte County voters had returned around 20,000 ballots.
Denlay encourages voters to turn in their ballots in the way they feel most comfortable. Ballots can be dropped off in person, in the mail or the ballot drop boxes.
So far, this cycle has not had as high a turnout as it was in 2020, which was a record-breaking election. There’s still time though, for every registered voter to submit their ballot and have it be counted.
