SACRAMENTO COUNTY, Calif — Early voting for the Nov. 5, 2024, general election is underway in California and ballot drop boxes opened Tuesday.
According to the latest report from the California Secretary of State, more than 22 million people are registered to vote in California, including more than 877,000 registered voters in Sacramento County.
The election comes with key dates and deadlines. Across California, all county elections officials are responsible for mailing the County Voter Information Guide between Sept. 26 and Oct. 15. Then, no later than Oct. 7, county elections officials must mail each registered voter a vote‐by‐mail ballot.
"We always stay ready for elections," said Sacramento County spokesman Ken Casparis. "We've been preparing from the moment since the last elections ended. We recently wrapped up our logic and accuracy testing. That's what we do right before an election. We run all of the processes and make sure that the equipment is working properly. So, once the voting centers open, everything goes off without a hitch."
All 60 ballot drop box locations are now open in Sacramento County. The Sacramento County Voter Registration and Elections already started delivering vote-by-mail ballots, and they are being mailed to all currently registered voters in the county.
Before voters return their ballot, election officials say they should make sure everything is in order and marked correctly.
"Voters should make sure that they sign the pink envelope, after you mark your ballot, put it back in the pink envelope and make sure that you sign it," Casparis said. "You can return it to us either by mail or ballot drop box. If you do not sign your ballot, it's not going to count."
Voted ballots may be returned in any of the Ballot Drop Boxes located throughout Sacramento County. Registered voters can use the postage–paid envelope already provided to return their ballot by mail. The ballot must be postmarked on or before Election Day (Nov. 5). The county elections office must also get the ballot no later than seven days after Election Day.
If you plan on voting in-person instead of by mail, Sacramento County has 88 voting centers in total. Eighteen of them open Oct. 26. The remaining voting centers will open Nov. 2. To learn more about the voting process, visit the Sacramento County Voter Registration and Elections website.
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