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Countdown to Voting – Voter Information Guide

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Voting for the November 3, 2026 General Election will open in 25 days.

A Vote-By-Mail ballot will be mailed to all Orange County voters starting no later than Monday, Oct. 5, marking the start of the voting period. The County Voter Information Guide (VIG) will be mailed separately around Sept. 24.

Your Guide provides trusted election information, explaining how, when, and where to vote in the November 3, 2026 General Election, including:

  • List of contests that will be on your ballot
  • A practice ballot
  • Candidate qualification statements
  • The location and operation days of Vote Centers and Ballot Drop Boxes

After Sept. 24, you can also view your VIG online at ocvote.gov/VIG.



Bob Page
Registrar of Voters
 
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Life of a Vote-By-Mail Ballot, Part 3
Life of a Vote-By-Mail Ballot, Part 3

Registrar of Voters (ROV) maintains the integrity of your Vote-By-Mail ballot throughout the election process.

The final phase of the life cycle begins after the signature is verified and the ballot is separated from its envelope and sorted.

A team unfolds, flattens and inspects ballots for damage or marking by the voter in a way that would prevent the ballot from being scanned.

The votes on damaged or mismarked ballots are copied onto new official ballots and then audited by a second person to ensure the votes were copied accurately.

Ballots are scanned and then audited to ensure accuracy before the tabulations are sent to the Tally Room where the votes in each contest are added up to produce results reports after voting for the 2026 General Election closes at 8 p.m. on Nov. 3.

Audits and tests, including hand counts of randomly selected ballots, are performed before certifying the election to confirm the accuracy of the voting system results.

Our new 'Behind the Ballot' video follows a ballot through each of these steps. Watch it at on our YouTube page at youtube.com/ocrov.

Your ballot goes through many steps to ensure elections are accurate, secure, and transparent. Learn more at ocvote.gov/voting/life-of-a-vote-by-mail-ballot.
Maintaining Accurate Voter Rolls
Maintaining Accurate Voter Rolls

Voter registration records are updated daily based on information provided by voters and official government sources. These updates include new registrations, changes of address, selections of a political party preference, requests for election materials in a language other than English, and notifications that a voter has died.

ROV also regularly compares the information on the voter rolls to databases kept by third parties such as consumer credit reporting agencies, reviews voter registration files for potentially duplicate records, and encourages voters to re-register when we notice a change in their signatures.

These updates add up to more than 700,000 registration changes annually in Orange County.

Learn more at ocvote.gov/list-maintenance.
Communications Tool Kit
Communications Tool Kit

ROV has published a Communications Tool Kit to help community members and organizations share trusted voter education information about the November 3, 2026 General Election.

The tool kit includes the following ready-to-use materials:

  • Vote Easy and Vote Secure Infographics – One-page summaries of voting facts, options, dates, resources, and measures we complete to ensure every election is secure and accurate.
  • Voter Education Presentation
  • Social Media Posts and Graphics
  • Newsletter Articles and Email Messages – Ready-to-use copy you can include in your own newsletters or email communications.
  • Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
  • QR Codes – Scannable codes linking directly to key voter resources.

We encourage our community partners as trusted messengers to share these materials with their networks. Every share helps ensure more Orange County voters have the information they need to cast their ballot.

The tool kit is available in English, Chinese, Korean, Spanish and Vietnamese at ocvote.gov/community.
Open House – Save the Date
Open House – Save the Date

ROV is hosting an Open House on Tuesday, Oct. 6 from 4 to 7 p.m. at our headquarters, 1300 S. Grand Avenue, Building C in Santa Ana.

The Open House will enable you to view the various steps we take when processing ballots during each election. Members of the Registrar of Voters team will demonstrate and answer questions about our processes to ensure elections are secure, fair, accurate, transparent, and accessible.

We will demonstrate and answer questions about our secure processes, including:

  • Collection of ballots from Ballot Drop Boxes and Vote Centers, utilizing chain-of-custody processes
  • Mail ballot signature comparison
  • Scanning of ballots
  • Testing and auditing of election equipment and software

We hope to see you there! No RSVP is required.

For more information on observable election activities, visit ocvote.gov/observe.
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