Observation Schedule for March 5, 2024 Presidential Primary Election
SANTA ANA, CA – January 22, 2024 – The public is invited to observe as the Orange County Registrar of Voters conducts the March 5, 2024 Presidential Primary Election. All ballot processing, counting, testing and audits will take place at the Orange County Registrar of Voters Office 1300 S Grand Ave. Santa Ana, CA 92705. Observers are also welcome to visit Vote Center and ballot drop box locations throughout the county to observe daily operations.
The start dates for significant election activities are listed below. Daily election activities are posted and updated on an observation calendar on the Registrar of Voters website – www.ocvote.gov/observe.
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Start Date/Time |
Observable Election Activity |
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February 5, 2024 8 a.m.
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Voting Ballots for all active registered voters in Orange County will be delivered to the U.S. Postal Service for mailing. Voters may also visit the Registrar of Voters to be issued and vote a ballot. |
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February 6, 2024 10 a.m. |
Pre-Election Logic and Accuracy Test Accuracy testing of Orange County’s voting system will start with the preparation of test ballots and will continue until all devices to be used in this election have been included in the test. It is expected that scanning of the test ballots will commence on Thursday, February 8.
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February 6, 2024 1 p.m. |
Processing of Mail Ballots Mail ballot processing includes sorting, signature verification, collection and return operations, and duplication of the official ballots.
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February 12, 2024 10 a.m. |
Counting of Mail Ballots Mail ballots accepted for counting are scanned. The votes on the scanned ballots may not be tabulated by the voting system, accessed by Registrar of Voters staff, or released until 8 p.m. on Tuesday, March 5.
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February 24, 2024 8 a.m. |
Vote Centers Open 37 Vote Centers open throughout the county to serve voters daily. An additional 146 Vote Centers will open Saturday, March 2. All 183 Vote Centers will be open through 8 p.m. on Tuesday, March 5. Processing of Conditional Voter Registrations and provisional ballots can begin.
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March 5, 2024 After 8 p.m. |
Tabulation of Ballots The votes from mail ballots processed and scanned by this day and in-person ballots cast at Vote Centers will be tabulated by the voting system. Unofficial Election Results Reports will be posted at 8:05 p.m., 9:30 p.m., and every half hour thereafter until all Vote Center ballots are tabulated.
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March 6, 2024 10 a.m. |
Official Canvass During the Official Canvass, the Registrar of Voters continues to process mail ballots; accounts for all ballots that were issued, voted, and those that were not used; and completes audits. The canvass must be completed no later than Tuesday, April 2.
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March 7, 2024 11 a.m. |
One Percent Manual Tally At least 1% of all precincts will be randomly selected at this time. It is expected that the hand counting of all ballots from those precincts to verify the votes tabulated by the voting system software will commence on Friday, March 15.
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March 14, 2024 8 a.m. |
Post-Election Logic and Accuracy Test The scanning of test ballots on all voting system devices will commence to confirm that the system is still tabulating votes accurately.
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