Vote by Mail
Page Contents
Overview of Voting by Mail
The Registrar of Voters Office is required to mail a ballot to every active, registered voter for each election in which they are eligible to vote (see AB37). Vote-by-Mail ballots start going out 29 days before each election. Voters are not required to vote by mail. Those who prefer to vote in person can do so at any Vote Center in Sonoma County.
Voting Your Ballot
❖ The Basics
- Carefully read all of the instructions included with your Vote-by-Mail ballot before voting.
- A "ballot" can consist of one or more "ballot cards" (individual pieces of paper). Make sure you are voting each card. You can tell if there is more than one card because each card will have a letter in the upper-right corner of the front side (the first card will have "A," the second card will have "B," etc.).
- Contests can appear on both the front and the back of the card, so check both sides!
- Feel free to leave contests blank. If you don't vote on a particular contest, it won't impact any other contests.
- Check how many candidates you can vote for in each contest ("vote for no more than one," "vote for no more than two," etc.).
❖ Marking Your Ballot
- Use dark blue or black pen only. No other colored ink. No highlighters. No pencils.
- If you make a mistake when marking your ballot, call our office to find out how to proceed. Depending on the issue, you might be able to fix the error without getting a brand-new ballot.
- Do not sign, initial, or make any stray marks on your ballot.
❖ Signing and Sealing Your Ballot
- After you are finished voting, refold your ballot along the original fold lines.
- If the ballot cards include perforated stubs, tear them off. You can keep them or recycle them.
- Insert the folded ballot into the blue return envelope.
- Be sure to sign the blue envelope underneath the security flap. Your ballot may not be counted if you forget.
Returning Your Ballot
IMPORTANT! If you want your Vote-by-Mail ballot counted on Election Night, return it early! If we receive your Vote-by-Mail ballot within a week of Election Day, we may not have time to verify, extract, process, and tabulate it by Election Night. If Election Day is already less than a week away and you want your ballot counted on Election Night, consider going to a Vote Center and voting in person or requesting to vote a "live Vote-by-Mail ballot" (the list of Vote Centers and the specific dates/times they are open is typically posted 45-60 days before Election Day). To learn more about "live Vote-by-Mail ballots," call our office at (707) 565-6800 or email our Vote-by-Mail division at rov-absentee@sonoma-county.org.There are several ways you can return your Vote-by-Mail ballot.
❖ By mail
- No postage is needed.
- It must be postmarked on or before Election Day and received at our office no later than 7 days after Election Day.
IMPORTANT! If you are dropping off your ballot on Election Day at a USPS collection box, look for the "last collection time" listed for Tuesday on the box. If it is past that time, do not deposit your Vote-by-Mail ballot in the collection box because it will probably be postmarked the following day and be considered late!
❖ Drop it off at at an Official Ballot Drop Box
- Official Ballot Drop Boxes open the 28th day before Election Day and close at 8 p.m. on Election Night.
- The list of Official Ballot Drop Boxes and the specific dates/times they are open is typically posted 45-60 days before Election Day.
❖ Take it to our office or to any Vote Center
- The list of Vote Centers and the specific dates/times they are open is typically posted 45-60 days before Election Day.
- If you do not have your blue return envelope, you can get a replacement at a Vote Center.
If you are unable to personally return your Vote-by-Mail ballot, you can authorize somebody else to return it for you. As a precaution, we recommend that you write in the person's name and have them sign on the blue return envelope where it says, "If you give your ballot to someone else to return, complete the following authorization." However, this is not a requirement.
Tracking Your Ballot
If you would like to receive alerts when your Vote-by-Mail ballot is mailed, received, counted, etc., sign up for BallotTrax at WheresMyBallot.sos.ca.gov. You will also be notified about any issues with your ballot, such as if you forgot to sign the blue return envelope. You can choose to receive notifications by email, text, or automated phone call.
Special Situations
Getting a Replacement Ballot
Did your Vote-by-Mail ballot never arrive? Did you lose it? Did your pet eat it? You can get a replacement! When a replacement ballot is issued, the original is automatically voided in our system. Just do one of the following:
- Come to our office or go to a Vote Center (the list of Vote Centers and the specific dates/times they are open is typically posted 45-60 days before Election Day).
- Call our office. After providing some personal information to verify your identity and attesting that you are the voter, we can mail you a replacement Vote-by-Mail ballot.
- Print, fill out, and sign the California Replacement Vote-by-Mail Ballot Form (Solicitud de reemplazo de boleta electoral de votación por correo postal de California). Then return it in one of three ways:
- Scan it or take a picture of it and email the scan/picture as an attachment to our Vote-by-Mail division at rov-absentee@sonoma-county.org.
- Mail it to PO Box 11485, Santa Rosa, CA 95406.
- Fax it to (707) 565-6843.
IMPORTANT! We will only mail out a replacement Vote-by-Mail ballot if we receive your request seven or more days before Election Day. This applies to requests received by phone, email, mail (regardless of postmark), fax, etc. If it is less than seven days before Election Day and you are unable to to pick up a replacement Vote-by-Mail ballot at our office or at any Vote Center, consider having somebody else pick up a replacement Vote-by-Mail ballot for you or applying for a Remote Accessible Vote-by-Mail Ballot.
Having Somebody Pick Up a Ballot for You
Too busy to pick up a replacement Vote-by-Mail ballot? You can designate another person to be your representative to fulfill this task for you. Just print, fill out, and sign the Application to Provide Vote-by-Mail Ballot to Representative (Solicitud para entregar una boleta por correo a un representante). The representative must then present the application at our office in order to pick up a Vote-by-Mail ballot for you.
IMPORTANT! The representative must bring the application to our office. Vote Centers are unable to provide this service.No access to a printer? Call our office or email our Vote-by-Mail division at rov-absentee@sonoma-county.org to request that a paper copy of the Application to Provide Vote-by-Mail Ballot to Representative be mailed to you.
Medical Emergencies
Have you or somebody you know been hospitalized unexpectedly? Use the same procedure described above in the Having Somebody Else Pick Up a Ballot for You section. Or refer to the Remote Accessible Vote-by-Mail Ballots section of this page.
Getting Your Ballot at a Different Address
Are you going to be out of town when Vote-by-Mail ballots go out approximately 3-4 weeks before Election Day? Call our office. After providing some personal information to verify your identity, we can arrange to send your ballot to a one-time mailing address.
Getting Another Blue Return Envelope
Do you have your ballot but can't find the blue return envelope that came with it? Call our office or email our Vote-by-Mail division at rov-absentee@sonoma-county.org to request that we send you a replacement. You can also pick up a replacement envelope at our office or at any Vote Center. The list of Vote Centers and the specific dates/times they are open is typically posted 45-60 days before Election Day.
Signature Issues
❖ Signature Missing
- If you did not sign your blue return envelope, we cannot count your Vote-by-Mail ballot. We will send you an Unsigned Ballot Statement by email/mail. Please complete the statement and return it in the postage-paid return envelope provided as soon as possible. Alternatively, you can come to our office and sign your blue return envelope.
- If you did not receive or have lost your Unsigned Ballot Statement, you can print it online: Unsigned Ballot Statement (Declaración del sobre de identificación sin firmar)
❖ Signature Mismatch
- If the signature on your blue return envelope does not sufficiently match any of the signatures in your voter file, we cannot count your ballot. We will send you a Signature Verification Statement by email/mail. Please complete the statement and return it in the postage-paid return envelope provided as soon as possible. If you want to know why we determined your signature didn't match, you can come to our office and we can show you the signatures we have in your voter file.
- If you did not receive or have lost your Signature Verification Statement, you can print it online: Signature Verification Statement (Declaración de verificación de firma)
Other Ways to Vote
Remote Accessible Vote-by-Mail Ballots
If you would rather mark your ballot choices on a computer instead of by hand, you can request to receive a Remote Accessible Vote-by-Mail Ballot. Please note that this is not "Internet voting." A Remote Accessible Vote-by-Mail Ballot simply allows you to access your ballot and mark your choices online. Access to a printer is required because you must print the completed ballot along with a return envelope and mail both of them to us. You cannot submit your ballot online.
Remote Accessible Vote-by-Mail Ballots are available to anyone. However, they can be especially helpful to voters with disabilities who (1) are unable to go to a Vote Center to utilize accessible voting equipment and (2) do not want to rely on somebody else to help them fill out their traditional paper Vote-by-Mail ballot. They can also be invaluable for voters who are out of town and therefore unable to come to our office or go to a Vote Center.
To find out more about how to apply for a Remote Accessible Vote-by Mail Ballot, go to the Remote Accessible Vote-by-Mail Voting section of our Accessible Voting page.
Military and Overseas Voters
Are you a U.S. citizen who...
➤ considers Sonoma County to be your primary residence and:
- is a member of the Uniformed Services or Merchant Marine on active duty outside of Sonoma County?
- is an eligible spouse or dependent of a member of the Uniformed Services or Merchant Marine on active duty outside of Sonoma County?
- is an activated National Guard member on State orders outside of Sonoma County?
OR
➤ currently resides outside of the U.S. but the last place you lived before moving overseas was Sonoma County?
OR
➤ was born outside of the U.S. and have never resided in the U.S., but you have a parent or legal guardian who is a U.S. citizen and was a resident of Sonoma County when they were last living in the U.S.?
Then you might be able to register as a military/overseas voter. Among other advantages, military/overseas voters are entitled to:
- receive their ballots early (45-60 days before Election Day instead of 29 days before Election Day)
- receive their ballot by email rather than regular mail
- return their ballot by fax instead of by regular mail
For more information, go to our Uniformed and Overseas Citizens page.
Voting in Person
Even though all active, registered voters will automatically be mailed ballots, you can still vote in person by going to a Vote Center (the list of Vote Centers and the specific dates/times they are open is typically posted 45-60 days before Election Day).