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Early Voting – Ballots Returned
Since Orange County Registrar of Voters (OCROV) mailed ballots to all registered voters earlier this month, nearly 180,000 voters have already cast their Vote-By-Mail ballots in the November 3, 2026 General Election. Voters returned their ballots through the following available options:
Your Vote Counted 1st: All ballots returned early and accepted for counting will be included in the first election results report posted at 8:05 p.m. on Nov. 3. Information about the number of ballots returned and the methods used to cast them is updated daily on our website. Visit our Data Central page at ocvote.gov/datacentral, click on the “Ballots” tab, then select “Ballots Returned” in the pull-down menu to see daily statistics. You can find out when your ballot is counted by visiting ocvote.gov/track. Bob Page Registrar of Voters |
| Current Tweet Missed the registration deadline and want to vote in the 2026 General Election... |
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| Missed the Registration Deadline? If you missed the Oct. 19 registration deadline to have a ballot mailed to you, you can still register and vote an in-person ballot in this election. You can save time by registering online at ocvote.gov/register first. Before you start, you will need an email address, a phone, a California driver’s license or state ID card and an Orange County address. Check back after about 10 minutes to confirm your registration has been processed. Once your registration is processed and OCROV staff have confirmed you have not voted in another California county this election, you can cast your ballot at the Registrar of Voters office, 1300 S. Grand Ave., Bldg. C, Santa Ana, 92705, through Election Day. Starting Saturday, Oct. 24, you can register to vote and cast a regular ballot during the same visit at any Vote Center in Orange County. To find a Vote Center near you, visit ocvote.gov/votecenter. |
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| Make a Mistake? Make a Clear Notation If you make a mistake when marking your Vote-By-Mail ballot, you have options. You can simply draw a straight, horizontal line through your mistake. No need to initial or sign your name after the correction. If needed, you can visit any Vote Center to ask for a replacement ballot starting Saturday, Oct. 24, or request one online at ocvote.gov/replacement through Tuesday, Oct. 27. |
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| Protecting Election Equipment from Tampering Ensuring a secure and accurate election is our top priority. All election equipment used by OCROV features numbered security seals to protect against tampering. OCROV staff apply the security seals to the voting equipment before deployment to Vote Centers. As part of our strict chain of custody procedures, those seals are verified by staff each morning before the equipment is put into use throughout the voting period. Each night when staff close the Vote Centers, they attach a new security seal and record the number for comparison the next morning. If a seal is discovered one morning to be broken or compromised in any way, that piece of equipment is taken offline pending a thorough investigation. In compliance with California law, all voting equipment used in Vote Centers and our office – including ballot-on-demand printers, accessible ballot marking devices and ballot scanners – is not connected to the internet. Learn more about our security and accuracy measures at ocvote.gov/security. |
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| Keeping Ballots Secure When voted ballots are collected from our 128 Ballot Drop Boxes, OCROV uses teams of two staff members to transport the ballots and record chain of custody at each step in the process. The two-person collection teams are issued a randomized route each day. OCROV communicates with them by cell phone and 800 MHz radio. We also track their GPS location throughout the day. When they arrive at an assigned Ballot Drop Box on their route, the team must take and submit several photos using their cell phone, showing that:
Only after their photos have been reviewed does OCROV give the teams permission to go to the next stop on their route. During the 2024 Presidential General Election, the collection teams submitted nearly 13,500 photos. The team also records the number on the seal that they use to secure the ballot bag. That seal number is verified at our office before the ballot bag is opened and the ballots are removed for processing. Starting Saturday, Oct. 24, teams will also collect ballots from Vote Centers at the end of each night. |
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| S H A R E N E W S L E T T E R | ||||
1,915,800
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