“No one should have to risk their health – and possibly their life – to exercise their constitutional right to vote,” bill coauthor Assemblyman Marc Berman, D-Palo Alto, said in a release. “In the midst of a deadly health pandemic, giving all California voters the opportunity to vote from the safety of their own home is the responsible thing to do.”
Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law Thursday requiring elections officials to mail a ballot to every registered, active voter in the state ahead of the November election.
Republicans have criticized the orders and challenged them in court as examples of executive overreach. Lawmakers passed the legislation to ensure that voters don’t have to go to a polling place while the novel coronavirus is spreading.
- The majority of CA voters vote by mail anyway.
- 78 percent of all registered CA voters received their March primary ballot by mail.
- Public Policy Institute of California stated that nearly three-quarters of likely voters support the ability to vote by mail.
- Polling stations will still remain open on Election Day but in limited capacity to help curtail the spread of the deadly virus, COVID-19.
- The law will also allow officials to accept ballots mailed as late as 17 days after the election.
