Not too early, not too late. Here’s the sweet spot for voting in California
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- Mail ballots will soon arrive in homes all over California.
- Many may choose to wait a little while before voting, as contests continue to unfold.
- But voters shouldn’t wait too long to make sure their ballot is processed in time to count.
For the next week or so, in homes all over California, ballots will be arriving for the June 2 primary.
Since 2020, a ballot has been mailed to every active registered voter in the state — more than 23 million, by last count. The time to choose is drawing nigh.
In addition to the race for governor, Californians will vote in contests for seven other statewide offices, the Board of Equalization — which oversees the property tax system — and a great many congressional, legislative and local races, including the primary for Los Angeles mayor.
What’s a voter to do?
If you’ve waited your entire life for a candidate like Republican Chad Bianco, the Riverside County sheriff running for governor, or you’ve been jonesing to cast a gubernatorial ballot for Democrat Katie Porter from the moment she whipped out her famous whiteboard, the choice is easy. Fill out that ballot and toss it in the mail, stat! No postage needed.
“Don’t mess around,” said Paul Maslin, a veteran Democratic campaign strategist. (His candidate for governor, Betty Yee, quit the race late last month, so he’s a neutral observer at this point.)
“If you have pretty good inkling what you want to do,” Maslin urged, “vote.”
The wide-open race to succeed Gavin Newsom as California governor has attracted a large and diverse field of candidates.
But if, like many, you’re not wed to a particular candidate, what then? If you’re worried about mailing in your ballot and then having some awful, Eric Swalwell-like revelations surface, or if you fret about wasting your vote by supporting someone who drops out before June 2, then what?
There are no do-overs in a California election. Once you’ve cast your ballot, you’ve made your choice. That’s it, however sorry you may be.
Which is why Republican strategist Rob Stutzman, who’s worked in California politics for decades, urged voters not to mail their ballot too soon. Like Maslin, he’s unaffiliated with any of the gubernatorial campaigns.
“It’s a slow-developing race,” Stutzman said of the contest for governor, the marquee attraction on the June ballot. “These are still relatively little-known candidates. There’s going to be a lot more campaigning to go in the weeks ahead. [So] unless you feel really strongly about somebody, I’d hang on to that ballot and see what happens over the next several weeks.”
Then again, with all the talk of clamping down on mail-in ballots and concerns about processing delays by a stretched-thin Postal Service, is there a danger of waiting too long to vote? What if your ballot arrives past the deadline to be tallied?
In March, the U.S. Supreme Court strongly signaled a likelihood it would require mail ballots to be received by election day if they are to be counted as legal. As it stands, California accepts mail-in ballots that were cast before the end of election day, so long as they arrive no later than seven days after.
The court seems unlikely to issue its ruling before the June primary — but that’s not guaranteed.
So is there a sweet spot, somewhere between voting in haste and having your ballot go to waste?
The Official Voter Information Guide, produced by California’s secretary of state, urges those voting by mail to “return your ballot ... as soon as you receive it.”
But Kim Alexander, head of the nonpartisan California Voter Foundation, falls into the wait-a-bit camp. “Don’t vote too early,” she counseled, “because this is a very dynamic election.”
Once you’ve made up your mind, her best advice is to mail your ballot at least a full week before election day, which is May 26, to ensure it arrives on time to be processed and counted. If someone wants to drop their ballot off in person, either at a vote center or secure drop box, Alexander suggests doing so by May 30, which is three days before the election.
“The good news,” she said, “is that under a new state law ... all county election offices will be open at least six hours on Saturday, May 30, for voters to come vote in person or to turn in their vote-by-mail ballots.”
Voting in person is an option right up until 8 p.m. on election day, even if you received a ballot in the mail. That applies everywhere in California, save for three sparsely populated, rural counties — Alpine, Plumas and Sierra — which conduct their elections entirely by mail. Bring your unused vote-by-mail ballot to your local polling place and swap it for a polling-place ballot you can use instead.
For procrastinators or those wanting to wait until election day to mail their ballot, they run the risk that it won’t be postmarked until after June 2. That means it won’t be counted, regardless of when it arrives at their county elections office.
“Voters who want to hold out as long as possible ... ought to be planning to turn their ballot into a drop box or a voting site and not use the mail at all,” Alexander said.
The lag time between election day and final tabulations creates a vacuum filled by unwarranted fraud claims. A reformer offers steps to speed the count while preserving the ease of casting a ballot.
Having spent decades working to make voting easier and elections safer and smoother, Alexander knows that voting by mail has made many people miss “the election day experience.” (Things like bringing the kiddos into the voting booth, or posing for selfies with an “I Voted” sticker.)
Her suggestion is to find other ways to mark the occasion.
“Help somebody else go and vote,” Alexander suggested, “or volunteer to help with an organization” running a get-out-the-vote operation.
“If you want to help election officials get ahead on the vote count” — a source of repeated upset as the country awaits California’s lagging results — “you can be part of the solution by getting your own ballot in just a little bit earlier.”
All of which sound like fine ideas. That way you can celebrate election day and make sure your ballot isn’t cast for naught.
Insights
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Viewpoint
Perspectives
The following AI-generated content is powered by Perplexity. The Los Angeles Times editorial staff does not create or edit the content.
Ideas expressed in the piece
The piece highlights a strategic approach to voting timing that balances decisiveness with gathering information before submitting a ballot. The article notes that campaign strategist Paul Maslin advises voters who have made their minds up to vote immediately and mail their ballots without hesitation, particularly for those enthusiastic about specific candidates[3]. In contrast, Republican strategist Rob Stutzman contends the gubernatorial race remains underdeveloped and encourages voters to delay mailing their ballots to observe additional campaigning before making their final choice, arguing that most candidates remain relatively unknown to voters[3].
The piece elevates Kim Alexander of the nonpartisan California Voter Foundation as the arbiter of an optimal voting window, recommending that mail voters submit their ballots by May 26 to allow sufficient time for processing and arrival before the June 9 deadline[3], while those preferring in-person drop-offs should do so by May 30[1]. Alexander emphasizes this is a “very dynamic election” where voters benefit from waiting rather than voting immediately upon receiving their ballots[3]. The article also underscores that voting in person remains available through 8 p.m. on election day as a final safety valve for procrastinators, with the exception of three rural counties[3].
Different views on the topic
The article acknowledges the perspective of those who advocate for early voting by noting that the Official Voter Information Guide produced by California’s secretary of state urges mail voters to “return your ballot as soon as you receive it[3].” Concerns about postal processing delays and recent Supreme Court signals favoring a requirement that mail ballots be received by election day rather than merely postmarked by that date present practical arguments for voting sooner rather than later[3]. Additionally, the piece recognizes concerns about potential negative candidate revelations or endorsements emerging between a voter’s mailing date and election day[3], though it presents these as voter anxieties rather than strategic recommendations. The uncertainty surrounding the Supreme Court’s potential ruling before June 2 creates an argument that expedited voting protects against unforeseen legal changes to ballot acceptance procedures[2].
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