Ventura County Clerk Recorder’s office details important upcoming election dates
VENTURA COUNTY, Calif. – Though primary election night results came in near 2 a.m Wednesday morning for Ventura County, important dates are still on the horizon regarding voting.
Ventura County Clerk Recorder Michelle Ascencion issued a statement on the importance of the official canvass period which opened the night of primary election night results.
“Holding an election is more than just a one-day event,” Ascencion said. “People are usually unfamiliar with the canvass part of it and do not understand why the ballot tallying process is given so much time. We are required by law to perform and complete all canvass activities before certifying the election.”
Signature issues on vote-by-mail ballots are commonly inspected across this period in a process known as curing.
Curing, which ends March 27, aims to verify signatures in case they don't match a voter's record. Voters will have the entire canvass period until said date before all votes are certified on March 29.
The canvass period also inspects provisional and conditional voter registration ballots which need to be set aside from counting until voter verification.
What this means is that any last minute changes to registration, late voters or those who already have voted will be funneled into either of those categories.
Counting the One Percent Manual Tally Audit begins March 18 and is also a portion of the canvass period.
This process hand counts 1% of scanned ballot batches to confirm accuracy thanks to several teams of election workers spending several days to complete the task.
Much of the canvass period workload involves counting and processing vote-by-mail ballots from ballot drop boxes, vote center drop-offs and mailed in ballots.
Mailed ballots that are postmarked by Election Day and received within seven days of the election are considered timely.
An anticipated certification of final results is expected on March 29 but result updates will be provided throughout the month starting March 7.
For more information, voters can visit VenturaVote.org, follow updates on social media platforms @vcclerkrecorder, reach out via email elections@ventura.org, or contact the Elections Division directly at (805) 654-2664.
