Elections Officials Urge Early Mail-in Voting, Warn About "misinformation"

SACRAMENTO — State elections officials warned voters Tuesday to nonstop their mail-in ballots successful early pursuing changes astatine nan U.S. Postal Service that has led to slower message work passim California.

Atty. General Rob Bonta and Secretary of State Shirley Weber said vote-by-mail ballots should beryllium put successful nan message astatine slightest a week earlier the June 2 election.

The officials besides formed skepticism astir societal media posts that urges Democrats to ballot “late” and to rally astir 1 campaigner successful bid to guarantee a Republican doesn’t win. The posts are akin successful wording and person dispersed connected Facebook successful nan past week.

Bonta said nan posts, which were brought up by nan Times astatine a news convention successful Sacramento, could beryllium “misinformation” aliases “disinformation” and “potentially unlawful.”

“Get your ballot successful nan message astatine slightest a week early,” he said. “You want to make judge your ballot is counted. And nan misinformation that you’re referencing is nan misinformation we’re trying to combat.”

Voters utilizing nan postal work to message their ballot wrong a week of nan predetermination should spell wrong nan station agency and inquire that their ballot beryllium postmarked, aliases tin driblet disconnected their ballot astatine a unafraid elector box, officials said.

The caller guidance follows sweeping changes made astatine nan United States Postal Services past twelvemonth that has reduced nan number of trips to prime up message astatine station offices successful mostly agrarian areas successful nan country, including California.

A Times study of past year’s November typical election recovered that location was a importantly higher number of mail-in ballots that arrived excessively precocious to beryllium counted compared to nan 2024 election.

Rural counties saw immoderate of nan biggest summation successful rejected ballots because they came successful excessively late, The Times found.

The changes to nan postal work are nationwide, but are peculiarly applicable successful California because nan immense mostly of group ballot successful nan authorities utilizing mail-in ballots.

Voters who message a ballot connected predetermination day, aliases moreover 2 days before, whitethorn not spot their ballot counted because it will get excessively late, Bonta told reporters.

“You want your ballot to beryllium counted, I want your ballot to beryllium counted,” Bonta said. “If you ballot earlier, you maximize that anticipation that it will.”

Vote-by-mail ballots are considered precocious if they are not postmarked connected aliases up of predetermination time aliases if nan postmarked ballots do not get wrong 7 days of nan election.

Weber’s agency besides said it would look into a caller inclination of societal posts that impulse California Democrats to “vote late” successful nan June 2 election.

The posts, which person appeared connected Facebook and Instagram, are akin successful wording, and show Democrats to clasp disconnected from voting early to guarantee that 2 Republican don’t make nan 2 apical spots, and to rally astir 1 Democrat.

California’s superior predetermination strategy allows nan 2 candidates who received nan astir votes to beforehand to nan November election, sloppy of party.

With galore Democrats crowding nan ballot this year, immoderate Democratic leaders person expressed interest fearfulness that 2 Republicans — businessman Steve Hilton and Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco — will return nan apical 2 spots because Democratic voters will beryllium splintered among nan party’s apical 7 candidates.

The validity of nan societal media posts are nether scrutiny.

One station connected Facebook past week, for instance, purports to beryllium written by historiographer Heather Cox Richardson. The station warned voters not to ballot until aft each nan debates successful California person concluded and nan front-runner is clear.

Richardson told nan Times she’s not connected to nan post. “I didn’t constitute it and we can’t fig retired who did,” she said successful an email. “I haven’t— and won’t— return immoderate position successful a primary.”

The past statewide predetermination successful California was intimately watched aft nan U.S. Department of Justice said would show polling sites successful immoderate California counties pursuing a petition by California Republican Party officials.

However, nan predetermination proceeded without immoderate incident.

Gov. Gavin Newsom connected Monday sent a missive to elections officials successful nan state’s 58 counties that highlighted caller authorities mandating that California ballots beryllium counted wrong 13 days, alternatively of 30 days. Newsom thanked nan elections unit for their activity and urged a speedy ballot count.

“We must admit that nan longer nan voting count takes,” Newsom wrote, “the much mis- and disinformation spreads.”