SAN DIEGO COUNTY, California — The election is just six weeks away and it’s already shaping up to be different than any we’ve ever seen before. Understandably, News 8 viewers have a lot of questions about the process and their vote, and we are taking those questions straight to the Registrar of Voters for answers.
The latest question is “What is a provisional ballot?”
Simply put, a provisional ballot is a vote that needs more verification - usually surrounding a voter's eligibility - that must be resolved before it can be counted.
“For example, if a person goes to a polling place and they try to vote and it shows that they've already voted their mail ballot, we've received it, the only way that person will be able to vote is to cast a provisional ballot,” said San Diego County Registrar Michael Vu.
Vu said that ballot will then go into a special envelope that the voter must fill out and sign.
“And once it gets back to our office,” Vu added. “We're determining is this a potential double vote situation? Or is this, in fact, a situation where we can actually count the ballot?”
California now allows voters the opportunity to register and vote at the same time on election day. Those voters will also get a provisional ballot.
“This gives us the situation to make sure they haven't cast a ballot anywhere else in the state," said Vu.
Provisional voting has been used in California since 1984 and it's not uncommon for San Diego County to have anywhere from 30,000 to over 100,000 of them in any given election. Usually around 85 to 90% of them will be accepted.
Vu wants to remind everyone that all registered voters will receive a mail-in ballot this year. They'll be sent out Oct. 5, but you can still vote in person at the registrar's office or your designated polling place.
