LAGUNA BEACH, CA — Many registered Laguna Beach residents have likely already returned their votes for the Nov. 5 General Election, but it’s important to know how to track your ballot.
Counties were required to mail out ballots by Oct. 7 — all active, registered voters are expected to receive a vote-by-mail ballot for the general election.
California’s Secretary of State is offering a “Where’s My Ballot?” tool called BallotTrax that allows voters to monitor the status of their vote-by-mail ballot. If you’re still waiting on your ballot to arrive in the mail, this tool can also be used to sort out where it may be.
Tracking Your Ballot
Whether you dropped your ballot at a dropbox, through the mail or in-person at a vote center, you’ll be able to see when your ballot is accepted through the state’s tool, which was created in 2020.
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Residents can visit this link to access BallotTrax. Then, enter your legal first and last name, date of birth and your current zip code. The site will then prompt you to set up text and email alerts.
Once you’re in, you will be able to see your “current mail ballot status.” Scroll down and you’ll also see your previous mail ballots and whether they were cast in-person.
Ballot Box Collection
According to the California Secretary of State, Shirley Weber, ballots are collected on a regular basis from dropboxes.
When the polls close on Election Day, all drop boxes shall be locked or covered at 8 p.m. and elections officials are expected to retrieve as many ballots as practical before 11:59 p.m.
Orange County elections officials are required to certify to Weber’s office that all ballots have been retrieved from all staffed and unstaffed drop boxes.
Registering To Vote
The last day to register to vote online was Oct. 21, but you can still take advantage ofsame-day voter registration, also known as conditional registration — available for those who miss the deadline to register to vote or update their information before the Nov. 5 election.
Conditional Voter Registration is described as a “safety net” for eligible residents who need to register at the last minute, according to Weber’s office. These ballots are processed and counted once the county election office has completed the process of verifying the registration.
In Laguna Beach, you can complete the same-day voter registration process at the following locations:
If you are voting for the first time after registering to vote by mail and you did not provide your driver's license number, California ID number or the last four digits of your social security number on your registration form, you may asked to show a form of ID when you arrive at the polls, according to the Secretary of State’s office.
If this is the case, bring a form of ID with you or include a copy of it with your vote-by-mail ballot.