By hannover-web.com In a recent interview, California’s Deputy Secretary of State for Communications, Joe Kocurek, shared crucial voting information for Californian voters just ten days before the 2024 election. On October 25, Kocurek participated in a discussion organized by minority media (EMS) to encourage voters to cast their ballots early.
Kocurek emphasized that early voting is already underway, with several options available: voters can mail in their ballots, visit polling places in person, or drop off completed ballots in designated ballot drop boxes. For those who choose to mail their ballots, he pointed out that they can track the status of their ballots online at https://california.ballottrax.net/voter/. This website also allows voters to check the current status of the ballots sent to them.
For voters planning to vote in person, Kocurek recommended visiting this website to find polling locations near their homes: https://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/polling-place.
He specifically reminded voters to sign the envelope on the back when mailing their ballots, as this signature helps election officials verify the authenticity of the ballot. The mail-in ballots come with prepaid postage, and any ballot mailed with a postmark on or before November 5 and received by November 12 will be considered valid.
For those who still wish to register to vote in California, Kocurek stated that registration is only available in person at polling places at this time, as online and mail registration deadlines have already passed.
If voters have any questions about the voting process, they can call the California voter hotline: 800-345-8683 for English support, or 800-339-2857 for Chinese assistance. The hotline can also provide information about candidates and measures in multiple languages, with additional language support details available at https://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/voting-resources/voting-california/voter-hotlines.
Kocurek noted that one of the ongoing challenges is encouraging young people to vote. Given that younger generations are accustomed to digital communication, they may not be familiar with the processes of mailing ballots or voting in person.
Regarding language translations on the ballots, Kocurek explained that the election office collaborates with translation companies to ensure accuracy, though he admitted that they occasionally receive complaints about translation issues.
As for the election process, Kocurek detailed that ballot counting is primarily managed by local election offices, which verify the validity of the ballots before reporting the results to the California government for certification.
In closing, Kocurek reiterated the importance of voting early and urged voters not to procrastinate, as waiting until the last minute could lead to unforeseen issues.
