By: Marianne Chan | Voting |
Rampant misinformation about voting persists despite much evidence to the contrary. Let’s take a look at the top 10 most common misconceptions about voting below:
Myth 1: Mail ballots are automatically thrown out if they are sent in after Election Day
False. As long as your vote-by-mail ballot is postmarked before or on Election Day and arrives no later than 7 days after election day, it will be processed and counted by county elections officials.
Myth 2: Voting by mail is less secure than in-person voting
False. Analyses show that someone is more likely to be struck by lightning than commit mail ballot-related fraud. Additionally, there are multiple security measures in place to ensure that no one tampers with mail-in ballots or the drop boxes used to store them, such as around-the-clock video surveillance, requirements for two-person/and or bipartisan teams to be present when individuals are handling ballots, and extensive documentation of records and logs.
Myth 3: If something on a ballot is left blank, the ballot will not be counted
False. Ballots with undervotes — blank or unclear contests — will still be counted if the other votes are properly marked.
Myth 4: Ballot envelopes with holes can be used to see how someone voted
False. These ballot envelopes are specially designed to assist visually impaired voters in locating where to sign their ballots, and also help make sure no ballot is left unsigned in envelopes.
Myth 5: Voting machines are unreliable
False. Every state’s election system has testing and certification practices before and after elections, such as pre-election logic and accuracy testing and post-election audits that compare paper ballot totals to machine counts.
Myth 6: Votes are being cast in the name of deceased individuals and counted
False. A California state database exists with information on where and when ballots have been submitted, and the Secretary of State’s office regularly updates voter lists, which are cross-checked with state and local death records, address changes and prison records.
Myth 7: A breach in voter registration database security occurs when someone is in possession of or publicizes voter registration information
False. Certain voter registration information is available to political campaigns, researchers, and the public, often at a price. A joint FBI and CISA public service announcement
Myth 8: Provisional ballots are only ever counted when there’s a close race
False. Provisional ballots are a fail-safe method that ensures all voters who show up to the polls are able to cast a ballot. All eligible provisional ballots are counted.
Every provisional ballot is checked by county elections officials to ensure the voter was registered and did not cast a second ballot elsewhere. Provisional ballots are typically counted after Election Day and vote-by-mail ballots. This is because of the additional human review and verification needed for provisional ballots
Myth 9: Counting votes by hand is better than relying on machines
False. While hand-counting ballots is an important step in verifying the accuracy of machine-counting, it is not a feasible replacement. Studies show that the process of hand-counting ballots is less efficient, more expensive, and leaves a wider margin of error than machine-counting. Furthermore, machines undergo vigorous testing to ensure that they meet federal and state requirements.
Myth 10: Election officials are not required to certify results that they don’t like
False. After all votes have been counted and/or an audit has been conducted or a legal challenge has concluded, state and local officials have a ministerial obligation to certify the candidate with the most votes as the winner no matter their personal feelings on the matter.
Comments