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The Orange County Registrar of Voters is the official government agency responsible for conducting fair and accurate elections in Orange County, CA and is where your official ballot will be generated and counted. We provide trusted information on the election process.
Select a category below for FAQs on "Voting Myths" .
- Myth: My Voter Status states that I’m a permanent Vote-by-Mail voter, so I can’t go to a Voting location.
- Truth: If you have Permanent Vote-By-Mail status on your registration, you can still go vote in-person at any Vote Center in Orange County. All voters in Orange County will automatically be mailed an official ballot through the mail with the option to vote that ballot, or visit a vote center and vote in person. You DO NOT need to bring your ballot that you received through the mail in order to vote in person at a Vote Center. Our new voting system will void your ballot when you check in to vote.
- Myth: If I vote my ballot I receive through the mail , it doesn’t get counted until the end or if the results are close.
- Truth: Ballots returned via a secure drop box, or through the mail, start going through the process of being counted and verified as soon as they are received by our office. The initial count on election night at 8:05pm is actually the majority of these ballots that have been returned up to that point.
- Myth: Voting by mail leads to massive corruption and voting fraud. I can vote twice with a vote by mail ballot and at a Vote Center.
- Truth: Each voter is only allowed to vote one ballot. If a voter returns their ballot received through the mail, and then votes in person at a Vote Center, our office will only count the first ballot received. Additionally, it is illegal to willfully vote more than once, and the voter’s information would be turned over to the District Attorney’s office to investigate.
- Myth: An absentee ballot is different from a Vote-by-Mail ballot.
- Truth: In California, absentee voting, voting by mail and mail-in voting are exactly the same thing. California Law allows for any registered voter to receive their ballot by mail (CA Elections Cod Sec. 3003). Now with Vote Centers, voters have the option to return their ballots at a secure ballot drop box, at a Vote Center, or through the mail.
- Myth: If I don’t have sufficient postage on my vote-by-mail ballot, it will not be delivered back to the Registrar of Voters’ office.
- Truth: In California, all vote-by-mail ballots include postage paid return envelopes. Voters do not have to pay for their ballots to be returned to the Registrar of Voters’ office. However, if you are an overseas voter, additional postage will be required to return your ballot to our office by mail.
- Myth: Adding a stamp to your postage paid ballot will force USPS to handle it as first class instead of bulk mail.
- Truth: Since postage on a return ballot envelope is prepaid by election officials, it is first-class mail (since it is treated differently as official election mail). Adding postage to the envelope is unnecessary and will not expedite the process.
- Myth: If I don’t vote on all contests on the ballot, my ballot will be voided and not counted.
- Truth: A voter may vote on any or all contest of a ballot that they choose. Our office will only count what is qualified. If a contest requires a vote for 1, and a voter votes for more than 1, then that contest is not valid, considered an “overvote” and will not count.
- Myth: My party status determines who will be on my ballot.
- Truth: The Presidential Primary Election is the only time a voter receives a party ballot based on their voter registration. Each qualified party will determine if they will allow participation by non-affiliated voters, referred to as no party preference, or NPP voters. If a voter wants to vote for a candidate in another party, and that party doesn’t allow non-affiliated voters, that voter will need to re-register with that party. For all other elections, a voter’s party would not determine the candidates they can vote for.
- Myth: If my signature differs from my registration (middle initial instead of spelled out), my ballot will be voided.
- Truth: Vote-by-Mail ballots go through a series of signature verification tiers. You should sign your ballot as close as possible to the signature on your voter registration record. The election official who is verifying the voter’s signature will review how precise the return ballot envelope signature is to the voter registration signature. If the signature is deemed not matching, it is sent for a second review. At the next level, the election official takes a closer look at the image and reference registration to decide whether to accept or reject the signature. If rejected, the ballot signature goes to a final tier review. The third review requires much closer inspection and often includes looking deeper into the voter file from previous registration updates. If a signature is deemed non-matching in the final tier, the voter is contacted via mail and given the opportunity to update their signature on file by completing a new affidavit. The new registration and letter are married with the challenged ballot.
- Myth: People can print multiple ballots online and send in multiple ballots.
- Truth: Remote Accessible Vote-by-Mail (RAVBM) is a system that has been approved by the California Secretary of State to allow voters with disabilities the option to vote their ballot privately and independently. RAVBM provides voters with disabilities the option to request a ballot be delivered electronically. This option is also available to all voters for every election beginning in 2022. The electronic ballot can be downloaded to the voter’s computer, marked using the voter’s own assistive technology and then printed before returning it to the Registrar of Voters’ office. Voters using this method are still required to sign under penalty of perjury that they are the person who is signing for their ballot and will only get credit for the first ballot received. Voting more than once is a crime punishable by the law.
- Myth: If I did not vote in the Primary Election, I will not be able to vote in the General Election.
- Truth: You do not need to vote in the Primary Election to be able to vote in the General Election. All voters get a ballot in the mail, regardless of whether or not the voted in the Primary election. However, if you have not voted in two federal elections in a row, you will become an inactive voter and you will not be mailed any election materials.
- Myth: People are allowed to commit voter fraud by harvesting ballots and changing people’s votes.
- Truth: In California, it is legal for third party ballot collecting, also referred to as ballot harvesting. The third party can potentially be a family member who is dropping off the voter’s ballot, volunteers, workers from an associated political party or any other individual the voter authorizes. If voters choose to have their ballots returned by a third party, they must ensure that the envelope has been properly sealed and signed by the voter. Additionally, the person returning the ballot for the voter is asked to complete the section of the return envelope with their name, relationship to the voter and signature.
- Myth: If I moved, but I’m still in the same city, I don’t need to re-register.
- Truth: If a voter moves, they need to re-register. Once a voter moves, they may be moving into various other voting districts. The voter’s exact physical address is what generates a specific ballot type for the contests they are eligible to vote on.
- Myth: My driver’s license address must match my Voter Registration address, or they won’t let me vote.
- Truth: When you check in at a Vote Center to vote in person, the only time you will need to provide proof of residence is if you are a first-time voter in a federal election. All other times you check in at a Vote Center, you will verify your name and address, and sign under penalty of perjury that you are the voter whose information you provided.
- Myth: I can register and vote in my pet’s name.
- Truth: All voters will need to provide their California Driver’s License, ID number or last 4-digits of their Social Security Number when registering to vote. When voting for the first time in a federal election, voters are required to provide proof of residence.
- Myth: I can use my post office box location as my residence because I’m homeless.
- Truth: We need your physical location in order to determine your assigned precinct, and what contests you are eligible to vote on. Our system does not allow post office or mailbox addresses as residential locations, however, you may register to vote using cross streets and a directional corner. For example: the S.W. corner of Grand Ave and McFadden Ave, Santa Ana, CA 92705.
- Myth: I received a voter registration Notification Card in the mail and think someone is registering fraudulently under my name.
- Truth: If you have visited the DMV recently or renewed your driver’s license or ID online, they are mandated by law to update your voter registration unless the voter opts out (opting out does not cancel an existing voter registration). Once the voter registration is processed, a voter notification card is sent to the voter to inform them of the update.
- If I receive a post card from your office confirming my address (whether I moved or not) I will not receive ballot materials and will not be allowed to vote.
- Truth: We are constantly seeking out confirmation of voters’ addresses. This is critical since voter databases are one of the few government databases where you are not compelled to update your information (such as through DMV, IRS, U.S. Passport Office, etc.). If we are seeking confirmation of your address your record will only be affected if you proactively sign and return the card, updating your information or confirming what we have on file.
- Myth: I don’t want to update my voter registration because then I will have to report for Jury Duty
- Truth: The courts pull information from both the DMV and voter registration records, so please re-register to keep our voter database up to date and accurate.
- Myth: Voters should have their voter information card with them to vote.
- Truth: Your voter registration Notification Card is to verify your address and inform you, the voter, of your registration information. This card isn’t required at the vote center but can be used as proof of residence.
- Myth: If I don’t have my official ballot I received through the mail (or the return envelope) when I go to a Vote Center, they will turn me away.
- Truth: As long as a voter hasn’t already cast their ballot and voted, any voter in Orange County has the choice to return their ballot by mail, at a ballot drop box, at a Vote Center or vote in person at a Vote Center. Voters do not need to take the vote-by-mail ballot that was sent to them if they choose to vote in person. Once a voter checks in at a vote center, they will be given credit for voting and the vote-by-mail ballot will become void.
- Myth: If I put my ballot in a Ballot Drop Box, someone could remove the drop box and steal my ballot.
- Truth: Ballot Drop Boxes are designed with military grade steel, weigh over 1000 pounds, and are bolted directly into to the ground at all locations.
- Myth: Ballot Drop Boxes will be too full and overflowing, and my ballot will be able to be stolen out of the slot.
- Truth: Our Ballot Drop Boxes are very large and designed to hold thousands of ballots at a time. Ballots are picked up every two days and increased to daily pick up 10 days before Election Day. Additionally, if we determine the volume of ballots returned at Ballot Drop Boxes is increasing, our authorized Designated Ballot Retrievers will pick them up more frequently. Our office will not allow them to be “overstuffed”.
- Myth: Someone could pour liquid in the Ballot Drop Box or try to light it on fire.
- Truth: Each mail slot opening is only wide enough to insert no more than 2 ballots at a time. If someone attempts to pour liquid into the mail slot, the interior has been designed to allow the liquid to fall away from the collection container, which is elevated off of the floor of the box. In addition, each Ballot Drop Box has a fire suppressor mechanism installed to extinguish any flames.
- WHAT IS RAVBM?
- The RAVBM system provides all voters the option to request a vote-by-mail ballot to be delivered electronically to their computer. Prior to 2020, this system was only available to voters with disabilities and our military / overseas voters.:
- WHY WOULD IT BE USED?
- RAVBM provides an option for domestic voters if they have postal delivery issues, live overseas and are in hard-to-reach areas (such as countries with unreliable postal systems), misplaced their ballot and are approaching ballot return deadlines, use their own assistive devices at home, etc.
- IS THE BALLOT RETURNED ELECTRONICALLY?
- No, the ballot can only be downloaded, printed, and marked on their personal device. It must be signed and returned by using our standard options for returning a ballot.
- CAN THEY DOWNLOAD MULTIPLE BALLOTS?
- No, when a voter interacts with the system (ocvote.gov/ravbm) they must log in to their voter record using personal data. We record the download of the ballot, and their printed vote-by-mail ballot immediately becomes void and would be rejected if returned.
- HOW DO YOU COUNT THE BALLOT?
- When the ballot is returned to our office, we verify the voter data and signatures, just like we do on a standard vote-by-mail ballot. The ballot itself is then transferred onto a regular paper ballot.
- IS IT SAFE?
- Yes, this system is certified to strict federal and state standards and undergoes rigorous testing in certified laboratories before it is allowed for general use.
- IS IT REQUIRED BY LAW?
- Yes, and this is the biggest bit of misinformation and the number one "myth" circulating on social media. Election officials do not have any discretion regarding use of the system. In fact, RAVBM is a legal requirement and was created through statute by the California Legislature and later made into law when signed by the Governor. Senate Bill 152; Section 1605; (c) states "The elections official shall permit any voter to cast a ballot using a certified remote accessible vote by mail system, regardless of whether the voter is a voter with disabilities or a military of overseas voter".