California will now send ballots to all registered voters for every election

(Image credit: Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images)

published 27 September 2021

A practice started because of the coronavirus pandemic is now permanent in California.

Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) on Monday signed into law a bill requiring county elections officials to automatically send all active registered voters ballots for all elections. This measure also gives voters more time to get their mail-in ballots to elections offices, extending the deadline from three days to seven days after an election. Those who prefer to vote in-person will still have the option to do so.

California, Newsom said in a statement, is "increasing voter access, expanding voting options, and bolstering elections integrity and transparency." Last year, ballots were sent to all eligible voters in order to prevent the spread of the coronavirus at polling sites. The state saw the highest general election turnout rate in nearly seven decades, with more than 70 percent of voters participating, The Sacramento Bee reports. The California Secretary of State's office said 86.7 percent of those votes were cast by mail-in ballots.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Prior to the pandemic, voters were able to request mail-in ballots from their county elections offices, but this new law will likely get even more Californians involved in the process, Secretary of State Shirley Weber said in a statement. "The more people who participate in elections, the stronger our democracy and the more we have assurance that elections reflect the will of the people of California," she added.

Explore More

To continue reading this article...

Create a free account

Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.

Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.

Cancel or pause at any time.

Already a subscriber to The Week?

Unlimited website access is included with Digital and Print + Digital subscriptions.
with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.

Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

Subscribe to The Week

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox