Millions of Californians have , but millions more are expected to show up to the polls for early voting on Monday and on Election Day.
They鈥檒l do this amid concerns about voter intimidation, social unrest and a in coronavirus cases.
To answer questions about how to vote this year, including how to stay safe while voting in-person and what you can and can鈥檛 do at the polls, PolitiFact California spoke with election officials and experts.
Here are answers to some commonly asked questions:
How Do I Find My Polling Place?
The California Secretary of State鈥檚 Office allows voters to look up their polling place on this .
Also, all registered voters should have received a voter information guide from their county elections office listing their polling place or vote center. Contact information for all county election offices is .
How Does Early In-Person Voting Work?
In-person voting locations opened in a few counties 鈥� including Sacramento and Los Angeles 鈥� on Oct. 24, allowing people to cast their ballot and beat the rush of Election Day. Many additional early voting locations will open on Saturday, Oct. 31 and remain open through Nov. 3. You can look up early voting spots and mail-in ballot drop boxes in your county at this .
These locations, particularly in counties that have adopted the new , offer a range of services: You can register to vote, update your registration, receive language assistance and also drop off your mail-in ballot.
Some prominent sports stadiums and arenas are serving as early voting centers through Nov 3. Those include the Sacramento Kings NBA arena, the , in downtown Sacramento; , which opens Oct. 30; and the which opens Oct. 31 in Oakland.
When Are The Polls Open On Election Day?
Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3 and the polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. You have the as long as you are in line by 8 p.m.
What If I Haven鈥檛 Registered To Vote?
Californians can register to vote up to and including on Election Day. You can do this at or at on Tuesday, Nov. 3. You鈥檒l receive a conditional voter registration because the has passed, but you can still cast a provisional ballot which will be counted once your eligibility is verified.
What鈥檚 Being Done To Keep In-Person Voting Safe During The Pandemic?
Election officials say they鈥檒l offer free masks, gloves, hand sanitizer and single-use pens to prevent the spread of COVID-19 at voting locations. The state issued this summer calling for physical distancing, the use of face coverings and regular disinfection at all polling places.
鈥淲e have social distancing requirements in place, we have line cues and stanchions that keep voters six feet apart,鈥� said Sacramento County Assistant Registrar Hang Nguyen. 鈥淲e have regular disinfecting procedures that we have trained our poll workers to do before and after they help each voter that comes into the location. We also limit the number of voters inside of a location at any given time.鈥�
Nguyen added that Sacramento County will also offer masks sized for children, noting kids are welcome to accompany their parents to the polls.
Will Voters Be Required To Wear Masks At Polling Places?
The short answer is no. Anyone without a face covering will be strongly encouraged to wear a free mask offered onsite. But under from the California Secretary of State鈥檚 Office, counties cannot turn away people without a mask. Instead, they may ask the maskless person to wait to vote until it鈥檚 less crowded or ask them to vote away from others.
鈥淭hey will still be able to vote. They may be a little bit more isolated in terms of their location,鈥� explained Yolo County Registrar Jesse Salinas. 鈥淏ut we鈥檒l make sure they have the opportunity to vote as well because they have the right to vote.鈥�
Statewide, there鈥檚 no single strategy for maskless voters. In Los Angeles County, those who show up without a face covering will be escorted to an outdoor location where they鈥檒l be handed a ballot, the . In Orange County, they鈥檒l receive their own booth away from others and in San Bernardino and Riverside counties, officials will offer face shields to the voters near the mask-less person.
Do I Need To Bring My Mail-In Ballot To The Polls?
All registered voters were sent a mail-in ballot. While some county election officials are encouraging voters to bring this with them, it鈥檚 not required. Salinas of Yolo County said voters who 鈥渟urrender鈥� their mail-in ballot help the county more quickly cancel out that ballot.
Sam Mahood, spokesman for the Secretary of State鈥檚 Office, said voters who live in counties with traditional polling places (not the vote center counties), 鈥渨ill have to cast a provisional ballot if they do not bring their vote-by-mail ballot to the polls. The provisional ballot will be processed and counted once the elections office can verify their voter鈥檚 registration.鈥�
Can I Turn In My Mail-In Ballot At The Polls?
Yes, voters can turn in their mail-in ballot at early voting locations and on Election Day at their polling location. They can also use authorized ballot drop boxes in their county until 8 p.m. on Nov. 3. .
Can I Change My Vote?
Election officials say once you submit your ballot, you can鈥檛 redo your vote. 鈥淣o take backs,鈥� said Janna Haynes, Sacramento County elections spokesperson.
鈥淥nce you鈥檝e cast your ballot, that鈥檚 it,鈥� added California Secretary of State Alex Padilla, speaking on on Thursday. 鈥淵ou can鈥檛 vote twice, of course.鈥�
Can I Wear A MAGA Hat? What About A Black Lives Matter T-Shirt?
Election officials said campaign gear such as hats, buttons and T-shirts with slogans such as Make America Great Again or Black Lives Matter are acceptable as long as they do not include the specific name or likeness of a candidate on the ballot.
Nguyen of Sacramento County said her county encourages voters not to wear campaign paraphernalia. But 鈥渢o avoid confrontations,鈥� she said poll workers don鈥檛 plan to stop people wearing material with a candidate鈥檚 name or likeness. Instead, they鈥檒l try to process those voters as quickly as possible.
How Does Poll Monitoring Work? And What鈥檚 Being Done To Prevent Voter Intimidation?
In California, anyone can observe election proceedings but they cannot interfere with the process or intimidate voters. Observers can ask questions of poll workers but they cannot harass, attempt to coerce or ask personal questions of voters. Any campaigning must take place at least 100 feet from the entrance to a voting location. .
Election officials encourage anyone who is experiencing voter intimidation to call their county elections office. .
Officials say that poll workers will be monitoring the voting lines and are trained to help de-escalate instances of voter harassment or intimidation.
Local law enforcement officials do not staff polling places, though election officials say they will reach out to police as needed.
Who Else Can I Call If I Experience A Problem At The Polls?
You can call the Secretary of State鈥檚 voter hotline 1-800-345-VOTE to get answers about where and how to vote and to document complaints about voter intimidation or harassment. You can also email the Secretary of State鈥檚 Office with those questions or complaints votesure@sos.ca.gov.
Additionally, the nonpartisan Election Protection coalition runs a hotline that can help voters with problems they encounter at 1-866-OUR-VOTE.
Are Guns Allowed At The Polls In California?
No, prohibits the general public from bringing firearms to any voting location.
When Will California鈥檚 Election Results Be Available?
Counties will release early, incomplete results shortly after 8 p.m. and throughout the night on Nov. 3. But full and final results won鈥檛 be known for many days or possibly weeks. That鈥檚 because counties must count mail ballots that arrive up to 17 days after Election Day as long as they are postmarked by Nov. 3. This is much longer than most states allow.
California Voter Foundation President Kim Alexander urged voters, campaigns and politicians to be patient as they wait for results in the days after Nov. 3.
鈥淭here鈥檚 this ridiculous expectation that we can just have these instantaneous results,鈥� Alexander said. 鈥淎nd it鈥檚 just not the way it works when you鈥檙e conducting an election where most of the ballots cast are vote-by-mail ballots. Even before COVID in the March primary, 72% of the ballots that were cast were cast as vote by mail ballots and they simply take longer to verify and to count.鈥�
Alexander offered one more piece of advice for those planning to vote in-person next week: Remember there鈥檚 a time change this weekend 鈥渁nd it will be much darker out Tuesday evening.鈥�
So, if you want to avoid waiting in a long line, in the dark, in a pandemic, then vote early.
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