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AP19:019

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 26, 2019
CONTACT:
SOS Press Office
(916) 653-6575

Orange County Votes to Implement Voter’s Choice Act for 2020 Elections

SACRAMENTO – The Orange County Board of Supervisors voted today to adopt the Voter’s Choice Act for the 2020 elections. Under this modern election model, every registered voter will automatically receive their ballot by mail and have options for how to return their ballot, by mail, to any ballot drop box in the county, or at any vote center in the county convenient to them.

“By adopting the Voter’s Choice Act, Orange County continues to be a national leader in administering accessible and secure elections. I look forward to working with Orange County Registrar of Voters Neal Kelley and his team, along with civic organizations throughout the county, to ensure proper voter outreach and a successful implementation of the Voter’s Choice Act in 2020.”

“The Voter’s Choice Act works — in 2018 all five counties that implemented the model surpassed the statewide record turnout. By modernizing our elections we can provide voters more options for when, where, and how they cast their ballots — that’s great for democracy.”

The Voters Choice Act (SB 450), sponsored by California Secretary of State Alex Padilla, is a landmark election reform measure signed into law by Governor Jerry Brown in 2016. Five California counties—Madera, Napa, Nevada, Sacramento, and San Mateo—implemented this new model of conducting elections for the first time in 2018. All five counties exceeded the November 2018 statewide turnout rate of 64.5%.

In addition to Orange County, Los Angeles County has already moved to adopt the Voter’s Choice Act beginning in 2020, with several other counties considering doing so as well.

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