Hi Folks,

With a statewide special election planned for November 4th, California’s election results and vote counting process will once again be in the national spotlight.

Visit this page on the Secretary of State’s web site to learn more about the special election less than ten weeks away. The proposed congressional maps can be found here. Check out CalMatters’ interactive map to see the current map and proposed map for a specific address.

Meanwhile, this year’s California legislative session is heading into the final stretch, and this edition of CVF-News highlights a number of bills that would improve and accelerate California’s vote counting process. 

The chart below illustrates how long it took to count California’s November 2024 ballots:

Based on what we learned from last Fall’s Close Count Transparency Project, CVF developed and shared recommendations to improve and accelerate California’s ballot counting process through several methods: reducing mail balloting mistakes that slow down ballot casting; enabling more voters to vote early, vote in person and to cast mail ballots as in-person ballots; improving ballot curing; and providing additional state funding to counties to pay for ballot processing equipment, space and staff. Below is a roundup of bills CVF is supporting and monitoring:

• AB 1072/Pellerin: Requires the Secretary of State to provide statewide standards and guidance to voters for what to do when they make ballot mistakes and remove roadblocks voters encounter when completing vote-by-mail ballots that can lead to ballot casting delays. (CVF support letter)
• AB 1249/Wilson: Sponsored by Secretary of State Dr. Shirley Weber, AB 1249 requires all counties to offer voters the opportunity to vote early the Saturday before a statewide election day and give voters the ability to cast a vote-by-mail ballot as an in-person ballot at a county election office or satellite location. This will create an equal opportunity for all Californians to vote early no matter which county they live in, ensure there is an accessible early voting option for all Californians, and expand opportunities for voters to cast vote-by-mail ballots as in-person ballots. (CVF support letter)
• AB 331/Pellerin: Sponsored by Attorney General Rob Bonta, AB 331 clarifies that certifying elections is a ministerial and non-discretionary county duty. It also requires the Secretary of State to call upon local authorities if a county refuses to certify results on a timely basis and facilitate a lawful vote count if a California county is unwilling or unable to fulfill its legal duty to count its voters’ ballots. (CVF and Verified Voting support letter)
• SB 3/Cervantes: Requires ballot return envelopes and signature verification statements to advise voters that county elections staff may compare the voter’s signature with their signature appearing on the voter’s driver’s license or state identification card.
• AB 5/Berman: Requires counties to finish counting ballots and release vote counts no later than 13 days after Election Day except ballots eligible to cure or received from other counties; provisional and conditional provisional ballots; and valid ballots received 4-7 days after Election Day.
• AB 827/Berman: Requires counties to contact voters to cure ballots no later than 14 days after Election Day and allow voters to cure their ballots up until 22 days after Election Day, creating a standardized, statewide cure deadline four days shorter than the Nov. 2024 deadline. 

All of these bills must advance out of fiscal committees by this Friday in order to continue moving forward this legislative year. The last day of the 2025 legislative session is September 12.

In addition, SB 280/Cervantes was signed into law last week to ensure counties have sufficient funding for the upcoming statewide special election. The bill stipulates the state will pay "actual and reasonably necessary costs" as determined by the Department of Finance for counties to conduct the election. This is a rare moment when the state is providing counties with funding for election administration. Special election costs can include purchasing new or additional ballot processing equipment and services that can also accelerate the vote count. If a county does not expend all the funding requested, it can use the remaining funding to offset state costs for the next election. 

     -  Kim Alexander, California Voter Foundation

About the California Voter Foundation

The California Voter Foundation is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization working through research, oversight, outreach and demonstration projects to improve the election process so that it better serves the needs and interests of voters. CVF-News is a free, electronic newsletter featuring news and updates about the California Voter Foundation's projects and activities.

Support CVF's work with a tax-deductible contribution!