How Ballot Collection Works

Is there a neighbor whose ballot is still sitting on the kitchen counter?

Every registered voter in Los Angeles County was mailed a ballot. Many of them will never be turned in, not because people do not care, but because life gets busy. Ballot collection is how a friend, a relative or a volunteer makes sure those ballots count, and California law allows it.

The back of the envelope, step by step

1. The voter signs and dates the envelope. It must be the voter’s own signature, because the County compares it with the one on file. Nobody can sign for the voter, and a power of attorney is not accepted.
2. The voter prints the name of the person returning the ballot in the space under “If you are unable to return your ballot.”
3. That person signs on the line for the signature of the person returning the ballot.

A voter who cannot sign may make a mark in the signature box and have a witness sign on the line beneath it.

Where and when it has to be turned in

• Within three days. The person returning the ballot must turn it in within three days of receiving it, and no later than 8 p.m. on Tuesday, November 3.
• Any drop box or vote center in Los Angeles County. In Burbank, the drop boxes are at the Buena Vista Branch Library, Burbank City Hall, the Joslyn Adult Center and Ralph Foy Park. The vote centers are listed in our voter guide.
• Or by mail, postmarked by November 3. No stamp is needed.

The rules

• The voter chooses. Only the person the voter names may return the ballot.
• No pay by the ballot. Nobody may be paid based on how many ballots they return.
• Keep it sealed. The envelope is never opened, and the ballot inside is never marked or changed by anyone but the voter.
• The voter’s choices are private. Offer to carry the envelope, never to help fill in the ballot unless the voter asks.