SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Sacramento County is once again under a mask mandate. So are Yolo County and Los Angeles County. But this comes just about a month and a half before the 2021 California Gubernatorial Recall Election.
And that has some people wondering if they'll be able to do in-person voting for the upcoming gubernatorial recall election on Sept. 14. Here is what we verified:
THE QUESTION
Will California voters be able to vote in person because of the new mask mandate?
THE SOURCES
Janna Haynes, Spokesperson for Sacramento County's Voter Registration and Elections Office
The California Secretary of State's Office
Senate Bill 29
THE ANSWER
Yes, despite any mask mandates, you can still vote in person in California for the recall election.
WHAT WE FOUND
Sacramento County says any claim saying they won't have in-person voting centers due to the mask mandate is false.
"We will still have in-person voting options, just like we did in November," Haynes said.
Haynes says there will still be 30 in-person vote centers open county-wide for the recall election. Half will open up 11 days prior to the election and all will be open four days before the election.
"There's still the same three options, the process is the same, the way that we tabulate and receive the ballots is the same and so nothing is being impacted as far as the options that voters have based on the new mask mandate," she said.
Despite any mask mandate, she says voters can either vote by mail, drop off their ballot, or vote in person.
According to Senate Bill 29, signed into law in February 2021 before new masking rules, county elections officials are now required to send a mail-in ballot to every registered voter in the state. So you'll automatically be getting one in the mail after August 16.
"There will be in-person voting options available in every county for the 2021 California Gubernatorial Recall Election. Every active registered voter in California will automatically receive a vote-by-mail ballot, they can return it in the mail or to the many in-person voting options available in their county," a spokesperson for the California Secretary of State's Office said in an emailed statement.
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