March 21, 2016 - We are preparing to send out ballots for the June Primary to Orange County citizens living overseas. This includes 1,345 active duty members of the military as well as 3,191 non-military citizens living abroad. Ever wondered what the top 5 countries are where Orange County citizens receive their ballots? 1. U.K. = 322, 2. Canada = 312, 3. Australia = 180, 4. France 174, and 5. Germany = 159. We will begin to send these ballots out 60 days before the June 7th election and must be finished no later than 45 days before the election.
Voting
March 17, 2016 - We receive questions about how the order of candidate names is determined on the ballot. For every election a random draw of letters is conducted, which is then used to determine the order that candidates will be listed. Today a random draw was conducted by the Secretary of State - here's the order:
1. Y, 2. L, 3. Q, 4. B, 5. E, 6. V, 7. J, 8. Z, 9. O, 10. F, 11. N, 12. T, 13. S, 14. W, 15. D, 16. U, 17. C, 18. K, 19. H, 20. M, 21. A, 22. X, 23. G, 24. I, 25. P, 26. R
March 16, 2016 - In the last few days we have mailed postcards to voters who have listed their party preference as decline to state, or No Party Preference (which means they are not affiliated with any political party). In particular these postcards, bright pink in color, have been mailed to hundreds of thousands of permanent vote-by-mail voters giving them the option of choosing a specific ballot for the June Primary election.
March 14, 2016 - Today Registrar of Voters Neal Kelley assigned letters to the local measures that will appear on the June 7, 2016 Primary Election ballot. The measures and assigned letters are:
December 7, 2016 - Pursuant to California Elections Code section 15628 the Orange County Registrar of Voters will be conducting a recount of the ballots cast in the 2016 November 8th General Election, Measure OO - City of San Clemente, Increase in "Hotel" Guest Tax contest.
November 8, 2016 - It's Election Day and you might be wondering where provisional ballots may be cast today. For this post we tracked data from 2012 and provide info from the top 15 cities. A quick word about provisionals first - provisional ballots are a "safety net" for voters in the event their eligibility cannot be determined on Election Day. The top two most common reasons they are used? The voter is voting outside of their home precinct and they were issued a vote-by-mail ballot but did not surrender it.
April 5, 2018 - As we continue the detailed and complex process of building the ballot it has become quickly apparent that most, if not all, ballot types in Orange County will stretch to 3-pages (unlike 2016 when most ballot types were 2-pages).
The reason for this is pretty straightforward - for instance:
November 9, 2016 - We are in the process of sorting and preparing the record setting volume of ballots voted, dropped off, or cast as provisionals following yesterday's Presidential General Election. Over 400,000 ballots fall into this category - and it is an enormous undertaking.
November 8, 2016 - in the last three days of early in-person voting we saw gains of 9% over 2012. Sites reported brisk business until we closed, which was 8 p.m. last night. Scores of people showed up to cast their ballot ahead of Election Day - with Irvine leading the pack (1,003) followed by Mission Viejo (852) and Anaheim (548). Sunday was actually the busiest day overall - here is the breakdown of the last three days of early in-person voting:
November 6, 2016 - As we approach Election Day we are standing by to help with any last minute concerns, or assistance we can provide Orange County voters. Our robust website, along with our voter help line (714-567-7600), is ready to provide help when you need it. Click the main panel on our home page, ocvote.com, for 8 of the categories most voters need help with - from emergency ballots to Election Day assistance - it's all within easy reach. Remember, polls open on Election Day from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.