Orange County Registrar of Voters "Your Vote, Counted 1st" campaign encourages voters to return their ballot early—regardless of which voting method you choose—because ballots returned early are included in the first results released on Election Night, helping deliver faster results for everyone.

Why this matters:

• Speed Up Results: Faster results start with early ballots. By voting early, you're doing your part to help the Orange County Registrar of Voters process ballots sooner, so everyone gets election results sooner.
• Avoid Lines: Voting early means you can skip the rush. Vote Centers and ballot drop boxes are open weeks before Election Day, so you can cast your ballot on your own schedule, before the last-minute crowds show up. voting locations and drop boxes
   
• Your Vote is Included in Election Night Results: The earlier your ballot arrives, the earlier it can be processed. ROV begins processing Vote-By-Mail ballots weeks before Election Day. Ballots returned early are verified, processed and ready to be included in the first results released after polls close at 8 p.m. on Election night.

Ballot Drop Box 

• Ballot drop boxes open Oct. 5 and are available 24 hours a day, so you can return your ballot whenever it's convenient for you. Each drop box is serviced by trained elections staff and is serviced with additional security measures, so you can trust your ballot arrives safely, and dropping it off early guarantees it's at the central processing center and ready to process.
• Ballot Drop Box locations

Vote Centers 

• Vote Centers offer full-service voting, including same-day registration, replacement ballots, and accessible voting equipment. Visiting before Election Day means you'll typically breeze right through with little to no wait, and you can check current wait times at the link below before you head out.
• Vote Center locations

Mail 

• Every registered voter in California receives a vote-by-mail ballot, so you can vote from home, on your own time, without a trip to the polls. Once you've mailed it back, you can track it every step of the way to confirm it was received and counted. 
  Track my Ballot

You can register to vote online at any time, including on Election Day itself. But registering now, well ahead of Election Day, gives your registration time to fully process, so your visit to a Vote Center goes smoothly. 
Register to Vote

Track Your Ballot

No matter how you vote, you can track your ballot from the moment it's mailed to the moment it's counted. Sign up for proactive updates by text or email so you always know where your ballot stands, all through OC Ballot Express. 
Track my Ballot 

Life of a Ballot How Quickly Does Orange County Process Ballots? 

Orange County moves fast. In recent elections, over 90% of ballots received by the day before Election Day were included in the results reported on Election Night. We can process your ballot quickly, but we can only start once it reaches us, so get it to us early. 
Track Ballot Return Data