California Voice: Ignore federal government’s false claims about our state elections

Last week, county election officials began mailing ballots to registered voters across California in preparation for the special election next month. This is, of course, just one part of getting California ready for an election.

Election officials take great care to ensure that, at every step, voters are safe and ballots are secure. Californians can count on our elections. That hasn’t changed.

What has changed is the volume of false claims about elections coming out of the federal government. It’s noise that Californians need to ignore as we near Nov. 4.

Amid today’s polarized environment and reports of political violence, it’s important for voters to know that federal law protects all voters against voter intimidation. Moreover, voters can be confident in the strong state laws here in California that protect against intimidation, whether at a drop box or in a polling place.

One California law — the Protecting Elections from Armed Coercion and Extremism Act — bans intimidation and threats against voters and election officials. It also gives voters and election workers the ability to sue those who engage in such tactics. And the PEACE Act, which passed last year with support from both sides of the aisle, tells juries weighing those lawsuits to presume that carrying guns where elections are being conducted is intimidation.

Because of these strong laws and the work of local and state election officials, I expect Nov. 4 to be another straightforward, peaceful Election Day. For voters, having a voting plan and knowing who to call in the event any issues arise can make things even smoother.

When it comes to voting, voters in California have several options. The ballots going out this week by mail are one choice. A voter can return a ballot by mailing it back to the address using the pre-addressed ballot envelope, or by dropping it off at an official drop box location. Drop boxes are frequently placed at county government buildings, schools or libraries. It’s usually a good idea for voters to return a ballot well before the deadline and sign up for ballot tracking to know when a ballot was received and processed.

Or you can cast a ballot in person. For counties where vote centers are available, many centers open as early as Oct. 25 and are available through Election Day. Some counties also allow early voting at the elections office earlier in October, before vote centers open. Counties that don’t have vote centers allow early voting or early ballot drop off at the elections office and additional locations, while providing local polling places on Election Day.

As part of a voting plan, Californians should make sure they have access to the website or phone number for their local election official’s office or the Secretary of State’s office. They are the most reliable sources of information about polling locations and hours, registering to vote and other questions about voting. It’s essential to seek out information from reputable sources so that you get the right guidance and won’t be susceptible to misinformation.

This helps reduce the spread of false ideas about voting and elections.

The country is in a moment unlike any other in our history. The federal government is trying to undermine public confidence in our elections and the states’ ability to keep them free and fair. But that effort is unrelated to the reality: Election officials in California and the other 49 states take many steps to conduct safe, secure and accurate elections.

Thanks to federal law and strong state laws protecting voters and the election process, Californians should make voting plans for the special election in full confidence that their ballots will count.

Gowri Ramachandran is the director of elections and security in the Brennan Center’s Elections and Government program. Distributed by CalMatters.org.