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AP20:021
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 22, 2020
CONTACT:
SOS Press Office
(916) 653-6575
TODAY: Vote Centers Open in all Voter’s Choice Act Counties
SACRAMENTO, CA –Vote centers are opening today in the fifteen counties implementing the Voter’s Choice Act for the March 3, 2020 Primary Election: Amador, Butte, Calaveras, El Dorado, Fresno, Los Angeles, Madera, Mariposa, Napa, Nevada, Orange, Sacramento, San Mateo, Santa Clara, and Tuolumne counties. These counties are home to over half of the state’s registered voters.
All Californians can find early vote center locations at caearlyvoting.sos.ca.gov. Voters can use any vote center in their county.
“California has already set a new voter registration record, now I’m expecting record voter turnout in 2020,” said Secretary of State Alex Padilla. “Given our record registration rate, the expansion of Same Day Voter Registration, and the excitement around the Presidential Primary, wait times for voters may be longer than usual on Election Day. I urge every Californian in Voter’s Choice Act counties to consider voting early. There are plenty of opportunities to vote over the course of the next 11 days, including evenings and weekends. Voters also have the benefit of choosing the voting location most convenient to them. It may be easier to go to a vote center closer work, where their kids go to school, or a shopping center. Vote centers empower voters to cast their vote where and when it’s most convenient for them.”
Voters in Voters Choice Act Counties can visit any vote center in their county to:
- Vote in-person
- Drop off their ballot
- Get a replacement ballot
- Vote using an accessible voting machine
- Get help and voting material in multiple languages
- Register to vote or update their voter registration
Counties implementing the Voter’s Choice Act (except Los Angeles County) must open a minimum of one vote center for every 50,000 registered voters starting today, and a minimum of one vote center for every 10,000 registered voters starting February 29. Once open, Vote Centers will be open daily through 8:00 pm on Election Day.
Los Angeles County must open a minimum of one vote center for every 30,000 voters starting today, and a minimum of one vote center for every 7,500 registered voters starting February 29.
Click here for more information on the Voter’s Choice Act
The Voter’s Choice Act (SB 450), a landmark election reform measure, was sponsored by Secretary Padilla and signed into law by Governor Jerry Brown in 2016 and was first implemented in five counties in the 2018 Primary and General Elections.
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