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Navigating 2020's Turbulent Election Season

Description

With no end in sight for the Covid-19 pandemic, the November elections are shaping up to be an unprecedented test of the nation’s voting system. So, on this edition of KCBS In Depth, as election officials surge vote by mail systems and harden polling places, we take a closer look at the effort to create a socially distanced election. Then in the second half we speak with a longtime election reform advocate about what voters need to know to make sure their votes do indeed get counted this fall. 

Guests: 

Rejected ballots - a preview of CVF's study findings and recent news coverage

Over the past several months the California Voter Foundation has been conducting a study examining rejected vote-by-mail ballots in the November 2018 election in three California counties (Sacramento, San Mateo and Santa Clara) to learn more about the problem of ballot rejection and suggest ways to address it. This research is being conducted in collaboration with Dr.

The 100-day countdown

Excerpts:

It’s now less than 100 days to the Nov. 3 election, and for it to go off smoothly, mail balloting must absolutely succeed.

Millions more voters across America will be casting mail ballots in 2020 than in 2016 so they can avoid crowded polling places during the COVID-19 pandemic. Under a new state law, every registered voter in California will receive a mail ballot, with postage prepaid.

More Than 100,000 Mail-In Ballots Were Rejected in CA Primary

More than 100,000 mail-in ballots sent in by Californian voters in the March presidential primary were rejected. This news comes as California moves forward with plans to send mail in ballots to every voter in the state to use in the November election because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Guest: Kim Alexander, President, California Voter Foundation

(last segment in this podcast, about 8 minutes in) (Full Audio)

 

San Francisco’s big mail-ballot problem: Too many voters send them in late

Excerpts:

San Francisco voters were the second-worst in the state when it came to turning in their mail ballots on time for the March primary election.

More than 9,100 city voters saw their ballots go uncounted either because they weren’t postmarked by the March 3 election day or didn’t arrive in the mail by the March 6 deadline, according to a new study by the California secretary of state.

Statewide, late ballots counted for more than 70% of rejected mail-in votes.

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San Francisco’s big mail-ballot problem: Too many voters send them in late

Excerpts:

San Francisco voters were the second-worst in the state when it came to turning in their mail ballots on time for the March primary election.

More than 9,100 city voters saw their ballots go uncounted either because they weren’t postmarked by the March 3 election day or didn’t arrive in the mail by the March 6 deadline, according to a new study by the California secretary of state.

Statewide, late ballots counted for more than 70% of rejected mail-in votes.

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