A Vote Center is more than a traditional polling place—it is an official satellite service center. Cast your ballot at any location, stop by on the weekend, even register to vote, all within a few miles of where you live, work or play.
Coming to Orange County in March 2020.
Each voter registered in Orange County can cast his or her ballot at any Orange County Vote Center. With over 180 locations countywide, you will never be far from a Vote Center.
Vote Centers open their doors ten days before Election Day, including weekends. Has voting been difficult for you because Election Day has been on a Tuesday? Now you can vote when and where it is most convenient for you.
With Vote Centers, all registered voters in Orange County will receive a vote-by-mail ballot. Do you prefer to cast your ballot in person? No problem! Fill out your vote-by-mail ballot at home and drop it off at any Vote Center or drop box in Orange County.
In-person polling place voting
Open multiple days and weekends
Vote-by-mail ballot drop-off options
Vote-by-mail status and replacement ballots
Voter registration status
General voter assistance
The California Voter's Choice Act authorizes specified counties, including Orange County, to conduct "Vote Center" elections. In this model, vote-by-mail ballots are sent to all registered voters and polling places are replaced by Vote Centers and vote-by-mail drop-off boxes. Vote Centers are open for multiple days and on weekends, and can provide any precinct ballot in the county. This means that any voter can go to any Vote Center to cast his or her ballot. Over 180 Vote Centers will be present throughout Orange County. Instead of only voting on one day in one location, Vote Centers allow voters to choose when and where to vote.
In addition to Vote Centers, vote-by-mail drop-off boxes will be available throughout the county. These drop-off boxes are constructed of military-grade materials and provide security features such as motion-sensor cameras and multiple levels of locks. Vote-by-mail ballots dropped off at these secure sites will not need postage and will be frequently retrieved by authorized Registrar of Voters' staff throughout the voting period.
The California Voter's Choice Act, or Senate Bill 450, was signed into law on September 29, 2016 and will become effective in Orange County in March 2020.
Current trends in Orange County demonstrate that we are ready for Vote Centers.
The percentage of permanent vote-by-mail voters has increased 6507% over the past twenty years.
The number of in-person ballots casts at polling places dropped 37% percentage points since 1996.
Based on the current trend, in twenty years 93% of all Orange County voters will have signed up to automatically receive a vote-by-mail ballot for every election.
The percentage of vote-by-mail ballots dropped off at a polling place rather than mailed have nearly tripled in the last twelve years, from 7% to 20%.
Vote Centers are more secure than polling places
Electronic poll books provide real-time voter data
Voters no longer need to find their polling place; voters can vote at any vote center, up to 10 days before Election Day
Vote Centers are service centers, not just for voting