[EL] Quick question about provisional voting in California

Mon Aug 17 13:44:56 PDT 2020

Yes, "most counties" did not receive ballots automatically, but about 50%
of CA voters lived in a VCA county where they automatically received a
ballot in the mail for the primary election this year. In those counties,
if they didn't take their ballot to the vote center with them the vote
center printed a new ballot and voided the mailed ballot. They did not have
to vote provisionally.

Even prior to VCA, over 60% of registered voters in CA were registered for
permanent absentee ballots, as high as 75% in some counties. CA also has a
couple of counties that are were exclusively VBM prior to VCA due to small
populations and their rural nature.  CA, as a whole, is pretty familiar
with VBM and absentee ballots.

Best,
Lisa

Lisa Bryant, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Department of Political Science
Survey Director, Institute for Leadership and Public Policy
California State University, Fresno

On Mon, Aug 17, 2020 at 1:28 PM Douglas Johnson <djohnson at ndcresearch.com>
wrote:

> But that primary was an election where in most counties you actively
> requested a ballot (either for that election or as a permanent absentee).
> This November election millions will get mail ballots they never requested
> - will they know to bring them with them to surrender?
>
> Eric McGhee or Thad Kousser (or anyone from that team), has your research
> with the early “Vote Center” counties shown any indications of how much
> this is an issue?
>
> - Doug
>
> On Mon, Aug 17, 2020 at 12:04 PM Pamela S Karlan <pkarlan at stanford.edu>
> wrote:
>
>> Dear Fred and Nate,
>>
>> If the primary is any indication, at my polling place, it seemed that
>> most of us who were voting in person *did* hand in our VBM ballot.
>>
>> It's interesting that the Secretary of State's website doesn't say
>> anything about this.:
>> https://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/voting-info/ways-vote/
>>
>> Pamela S. Karlan
>>
>> Kenneth and Harle Montgomery Professor of Public Interest Law
>>
>> Co-Director, Supreme Court Litigation Clinic
>>
>> Stanford Law School
>>
>> karlan at stanford.edu
>>
>> 650-725-4851
>>
>> ------------------------------
>> *From:* Law-election <law-election-bounces at department-lists.uci.edu> on
>> behalf of Fredric Woocher <fwoocher at strumwooch.com>
>> *Sent:* Monday, August 17, 2020 11:52 AM
>> *To:* Nate Persily <npersily at law.stanford.edu>; Election Law Listserv <
>> law-election at uci.edu>
>> *Subject:* Re: [EL] Quick question about provisional voting in California
>>
>>
>> Nate,
>>
>>
>>
>> I do not know the answer for certain, but unless the voter hands in the
>> unvoted VBM ballot, I don’t see how it could be otherwise.  For those
>> counties that will still be using traditional polling places, there is no
>> other way for the pollworkers to know whether the voted VBM has already
>> been returned prior to casting a ballot at the polling place.
>>
>>
>>
>> I believe some counties that have the ability to use electronic polling
>> books, with real-time countywide information on who has voted and by what
>> means, may be able to avoid the use of provisional ballots, but I don’t see
>> how that can be avoided in other counties.
>>
>>
>>
>> And this has the potential to introduce an additional grounds for
>> invalidating the voted ballot, because many people forget to sign their
>> provisional ballots in every election.
>>
>>
>>
>> <https://www.google.com/maps/search/10940+Wilshire+Blvd.,+Ste.+2000+%0D%0A+%0D%0A+Los+Angeles,+CA+90024?entry=gmail&source=g>
>>
>>
>> <https://www.google.com/maps/search/10940+Wilshire+Blvd.,+Ste.+2000+%0D%0A+%0D%0A+Los+Angeles,+CA+90024?entry=gmail&source=g>Fredric
>> D. Woocher
>>
>> Strumwasser & Woocher LLP
>>
>> 10940 Wilshire Blvd., Ste. 2000
>> <https://www.google.com/maps/search/10940+Wilshire+Blvd.,+Ste.+2000+%0D%0A+%0D%0A+Los+Angeles,+CA+90024?entry=gmail&source=g>
>>
>> Los Angeles, CA 90024
>> <https://www.google.com/maps/search/10940+Wilshire+Blvd.,+Ste.+2000+%0D%0A+%0D%0A+Los+Angeles,+CA+90024?entry=gmail&source=g>
>>
>> fwoocher at strumwooch.com
>>
>> (310) 576-1233 x105
>>
>>
>>
>> *IMPORTANT NOTICE**:* Pursuant to the Governor’s “Stay at Home” Order,
>> Strumwasser & Woocher LLP is CLOSED TO THE PUBLIC.  *Packages requiring
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>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> *From:* Law-election [mailto:
>> law-election-bounces at department-lists.uci.edu] *On Behalf Of *Nate
>> Persily
>> *Sent:* Monday, August 17, 2020 11:45 AM
>> *To:* Election Law Listserv <law-election at uci.edu>
>> *Subject:* [EL] Quick question about provisional voting in California
>>
>>
>>
>> Does anyone know if the voters who will choose to vote in person in
>> California this November will need to vote a provisional ballot?  That is,
>> given that all active registrants will receive ballots in the mail, will
>> those who opt for polling places necessarily be casting a provisional
>> ballot, rather than a "normal" ballot?
>>
>> ----------------
>>
>> <https://www.google.com/maps/search/559+Nathan+Abbott+Way+%0D%0A+Stanford,+CA+94305-8610?entry=gmail&source=g>
>>
>> Nate Persily
>>
>> James B. McClatchy Professor of Law
>> Stanford Law School
>> 559 Nathan Abbott Way
>> <https://www.google.com/maps/search/559+Nathan+Abbott+Way+%0D%0A+Stanford,+CA+94305-8610?entry=gmail&source=g>
>> Stanford, CA 94305-8610
>> <https://www.google.com/maps/search/559+Nathan+Abbott+Way+%0D%0A+Stanford,+CA+94305-8610?entry=gmail&source=g>
>> (917) 570-3223
>> npersily at stanford.edu
>>
>> www.persily.com
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>
> --
> Douglas Johnson
> National Demographics Corporation
> djohnson at NDCresearch.com
> phone 310-200-2058
>
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