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Californians have until Nov. 3 to return their mail ballots, but elections officials and experts are encouraging voters to do it sooner rather than later. 

Waiting risks mishaps that could lead to a ballot not being counted.

During the March primaries, California counties were unable to count 100,000 mail ballots, and many were rejected because they did not arrive at elections offices on time, according to county data compiled by the Secretary of State’s Office. Legislators hoping to ameliorate the problem extended the deadline for receiving ballots from three days after the election to 17 days.

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Early voting in-person begins in Los Angeles County Saturday morning, Oct. 24, at more than 100 polling places with an additional 650 to open Oct. 30 and running up until Election Day.

Voters can cast ballots at any one of the 766 Vote Centers throughout the county, regardless of where they are registered. Voters can also register or re-register a change of address at any Vote Center up until Election Day. And they can also drop off ballots.

Every active voter in Los Angeles County — roughly 5.6 million — has by now received a mail-in ballot. Voters can drop those ballots in the mail postmarked by Election Day or into any of the more than 400 official drop boxes throughout the county no matter where they are registered to vote.

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More than 33 million Americans have already voted as of Tuesday -- roughly 70% of total 2016 early voting. On Monday, the Supreme Court denied a request by Pennsylvania Republicans to shorten the deadlines for mail-in ballots in the state. We’ll get the national picture on voting from NPR’s Miles Parks and hear how voting systems are handling the record turnout. Then, president and founder of the nonpartisan California Voter Foundation Kim Alexander joins Forum to take your questions on voting. We’ll cover topics like locating and using official ballot drop boxes, voting in-person after applying to vote by mail and correcting a mistake on your ballot. (Full Audio)

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With about two weeks to go until Election Day, candidates across the country are in the final sprint.

Right now you're probably getting bombarded with texts and calls and finding your social media accounts inundated with personalized political ads.

In the age of social media, personal data is taking center stage in the battle for your vote and political data collection is a booming business.

These targeted messages, designed just for you, have become a powerful tool in the relentless effort to win your vote.

But have you ever wondered how campaigns are getting access to your personal information?

It's incredibly annoying and invasive, president of the nonpartisan California Voter Foundation Kim Alexander said.

She first started looking into voter privacy more than a decade ago.