Press Releases

SANTA ANA, CA - The Registrar of Voters announced today that the nomination period has been extended until 5:00 p.m. on August 12, 2020 for the office(s) listed below because the incumbent(s) failed to file Nomination Papers by the August 7, 2020 deadline.

Any qualified person, other than the incumbent, can now file the Nomination Papers until 5:00 p.m. on August 12, 2020 in the office of the Registrar of Voters, 1300 South Grand Avenue, Building C, Santa Ana, California. 

Business hours are:
8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

SANTA ANA, CA – July 30, 2020 – The Registrar of Voters is announcing the opening of its 1,125 square foot Vote Center Lab. As a fully functional, permanent replica of an in-person voting location, the Vote Center Lab was built to serve multiple purposes, such as testing processes and procedures, training election staff, educating the general public, and supporting research efforts in a controlled environment.

SANTA ANA, CA –  July 28, 2020 – In consideration of the challenges posed by COVID-19, the Registrar of Voters has released a report on what changes and procedures will be implemented for the November 3, 2020 Presidential General Election. These changes will be put in place as a result of COVID-19 so that in-person voting can be conducted safely and securely. California law requires that in-person voting be provided for the Presidential General Election.

SANTA ANA, CA – July 14, 2020 – In advance of the November 3, 2020 Presidential General Election, the Registrar of Voters has released a report showing data from several quality control surveys conducted following the March 3, 2020 Presidential Primary Election.

SANTA ANA, CA – June 25, 2020 – In preparation for candidate filing under COVID-19 restrictions, the Orange County Registrar of Voters is encouraging electronic filing options for candidates who wish to run for office in the November 3, 2020 Presidential General Election. Candidate filing begins on Monday, July 13, 2020 at 8:00 am and concludes on August 7, 2020 at 5:00 pm.

May 29, 2020 - SANTA ANA - The recount of the ballots cast in the City of Westminster Special Recall Election has concluded with no change to the original outcome. The recount began Tuesday, April 28, 2020 and concluded Friday, May 29, 2020.

During the recount every ballot was manually recounted (17,205) in 30 precincts and election materials were reviewed by the recount requestor. There were no changes to the vote totals - pursuant to California Elections Code §15632 the original certification of the ballots cast remains as the official certification.

SANTA ANA, CA –  Orange County will conduct a risk-limiting audit beginning Wednesday, May 27, 2020. 

The risk-limiting audit is a procedure that provides strong statistical evidence that the election outcome is correct, or has a high probability of correcting an outcome that wouldn't match a full hand count of the ballots. The audit itself requires human beings to examine and verify more ballots in close contests and fewer ballots in contests with wider margins.

Quote by Registrar of Voters Neal Kelley

SANTA ANA, CA - April 29, 2020 - Accuracy testing of Orange County's voting system will take place Tuesday, May 5, 2020 at 10:00 a.m. for the May 19, 2020, City of Santa Ana Special Recall Election. The Logic and Accuracy test is required by law to be performed prior to each election. Logic and Accuracy tests will include proofing the programming of the ballot, each ballot style and each contest position on the ballot. Due to the response of the COVID-19 pandemic, the building is closed to the public.

SANTA ANA – April 13, 2020 – In-person Vote Center voting in the City of Santa Ana Special Recall Election, which was scheduled to begin on Saturday, May 9, 2020 and run through May 19, 2020, has been cancelled due to the COVID-19 response. The election will now be conducted as an all-mail ballot election.

SANTA ANA, CA –  Orange County will conduct a risk-limiting audit beginning Thursday, April 16, 2020. 

The risk-limiting audit is a procedure that provides strong statistical evidence that the election outcome is correct, or has a high probability of correcting an outcome that wouldn't match a full hand count of the ballots. The audit itself requires human beings to examine and verify more ballots in close contests and fewer ballots in contests with wider margins.

Quote by Registrar of Voters Neal Kelley