Why You Should Vote Early in California – and Verify Your Vote Is Counted

Since 2020, many Republican voters have expressed hostility towards using mail-in ballots – saying they prefer to vote in-person on Election Day.  But Reform California says waiting until Election Day to cast your ballot in person is a recipe for disaster – and plays right into the hands of California Democrat politicians who are actively trying to suppress conservative voters in the state.

“California voters are absolutely correct in being concerned about the complete lack of integrity in the way in which our state conducts elections, but many conservatives may be surprised that we have proven that the worst way to vote is to wait until Election Day,” says Carl DeMaio, Chairman of Reform California.

Reform California is so concerned about voter suppression risks with late voting that the organization has launched a full-scale campaign to urge all conservative voters in the state to VOTE EARLY.

“Hands down, the best way for conservatives to vote in California is EARLY – in the first week they get their ballots – and they even can mail them in if they also track and verify the ballot is received and counted,” recommends DeMaio.

Even President Donald Trump endorses EARLY VOTING – and publicly announced his support for the approach recommended by DeMaio at a rally in California in September of 2023.

DeMaio points out two major problems with waiting until Election Day to vote.

First, voters that vote late cannot verify their ballot is received and counted!

In fact, voters that wait until Election Day usually have their votes counted last – sometimes 3-4 weeks after the election is done.  That presents a major risk for being disqualified if their signature does not match or if there is a problem with their ballot.

By voting early in the first week of balloting, voters can track their ballot and verify it was received by day 10 of the election month.  If the ballot is lost or rejected, the voter now has 20 full days to fix any problems by getting a provision ballot at a local polling station.

Second, voters who wait to vote on Election Day are playing into a scheme CA Democrats have concocted to suppress conservative votes.

“California Democrats know from polling that conservative voters want to vote in person on Election Day, so they have slashed the number of polling locations open on Election Day to make it harder for people to vote,” DeMaio explains.

DeMaio points to hard data proving his point.

A YouGov poll conducted in October 2022 found “A majority of likely voters (57%) who say they will vote in-person on Election Day say they will vote for the Republican candidate in the district where they live. Meanwhile, 61% of likely voters who plan to vote by absentee ballot — either by mail or by dropping off their ballot at a vote center or drop box — say they will support the Democrats”

DeMaio also points out that CA politicians ordered the “consolidation” of polling locations in 2022 – reducing polling locations by 60-80% in every county.

“We now see massive lines on Election Day and that just suppresses voting,” DeMaio warns.

“If all voters decide to vote on election day, you will create hours-long lines and overwhelm polling centers — which will turn away low-commitment voters,” said DeMaio.

“Say a mom pulls up with her kids in the car and she has to get them home and make dinner, and she wants to vote but the line is three hours long — she is going to give up, turn the car around, and get her kids home,” DeMaio explained.

Further, DeMaio points to the volunteer hours and money wasted by the candidates you support if voters hold onto their ballot until the last minute. Campaigns track who has and has not voted and will expend time and money encouraging you to turn in your ballot. Even if you plan to vote, these campaigns have no way of knowing that, says DeMaio.

“You may be indirectly hurting election odds of your favorite candidates by holding onto your ballot, because political groups and volunteers will spend time contacting you rather than a voter who is less likely to vote — where resources should be spent,” said DeMaio.

DeMaio says that he understands Republicans’ desire for a single election day. However, the election isn’t only one day in California under current law, and there are not enough polling centers set up to handle the demand of only voting on election day — which could lead to less Republican votes if not enough Republicans vote early.

“We need to work within the current law and turn it into an advantage for Republicans while we try to undo some of these bad laws with my Election Integrity Initiative,” said DeMaio.

“We need to vote early, and yes I know some people don’t trust the mail — but there’s a work-around for that,” said DeMaio. “You can use safe drop boxes or turn in your ballot to a trusted group that is collecting ballots and submitting them,” he continued.

Additionally, if you’re concerned about the integrity of the ballot counting process itself, DeMaio says you can volunteer to be a nonpartisan election monitor at your local elections office. These people monitor the counting of ballots for suspicious activity.

“Most reports we’re getting are that ballot counting centers are running safely, professionally, and legally — but you can monitor the process yourself and report if you see anything suspicious,” said DeMaio. “We have to make sure this election is being run safely and legally,” he continued.

DeMaio says more sweeping election integrity reforms are still needed.

That’s why DeMaio has authored and filed a statewide ballot initiative that he says will fix the state’s election integrity problems by requiring proper maintenance of voter lists and Voter ID to cast a ballot.

“Until my Election Integrity Initiative becomes law in California, we won’t have fair and fraud-free elections in California - but there are things we can do right now to minimize the fraud and make the process more fair,” DeMaio says.

For this 2024 election DeMaio backs the S.A.F.E. voting method, which is an acronym for:

SEND: Mail in your ballot on Day 1 of the election! Do NOT wait until the day of the election, as the state has cut back on polling places and long lines will suppress the vote! Voting on Day 1 gives you the full 30 days of the election to verify your vote is counted or resolve any problems.

AUDIT: Track and verify your vote was 1) received and 2) counted online at TrackMyBallot.org. Check often until your vote is counted and verified!

FIX: If you have a problem OR your ballot isn’t counted by Day 20 of the election, go to the nearest polling location and demand a second "provisional" ballot, then vote in-person. DON'T wait until Election Day!

EXAMINE: Share this information with your friends and family! Then sign up as a volunteer to examine and monitor the processing and counting of ballots.

“The first step of the S.A.F.E. method is to send in your ballot the very first week of the election - and absolutely do not wait until Election Day,” said DeMaio.

DeMaio has set up a website where voters can easily track their ballot is received and counted at www.TrackMyBallot.org