California February 5 Presidential Primary Election Frequently Asked Questions
Below are answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about the February 5 Presidential Primary Election and the Secretary of State’s Election Night Results Viewer.
Primary and General Elections
Why is California holding its Presidential Primary Election in February and how does this election differ from the Direct Primary Election in June?
Senate Bill 113 (Calderon), Chapter 2, Statutes of 2007, created a February 5, 2008, Presidential Primary Election. The election is limited to presidential primary candidates and, as required by California Constitution Article II, Sections 8 and 9, any initiative measure or referendum that qualifies in time for a statewide election ballot. The primary election in June will include races for United States Congress, the California Legislature, and statewide ballot measures, and potentially local races depending on the community where you live.
What is the difference between the primary and general elections in California?
Primary elections are held to determine which nominee in each political party will represent the party in the general election. Voters who are registered with a political party are eligible to vote only in that party’s primary election and not in any other party primary election. Some political parties allow voters who are not registered with any political party – also known as “decline-to-state” voters – to vote in the party’s primary. The winning candidate from each party moves on to the general election and all voters, regardless of their political party registration, are allowed to vote for any candidate on that ballot.
Which political parties are allowing decline-to-state voters to cast ballots in their primaries?
The Democratic and American Independent parties are allowing decline-to-state voters (voters who did not choose to affiliate with any political party) to cast ballots in their presidential primaries on February 5.
How are decline-to-state voters informed that they have the option of voting in some of the political party primaries on February 5?
Elections Code section 3205(b) requires local elections officials to mail all decline-to-state voters who are registered as permanent vote-by-mail voters a notice and application regarding voting in the primary election. The notice shall inform the voter that he or she may request a vote-by-mail ballot for a particular political party for the primary election if that party authorized decline-to-state voters to vote in their primary.
Elections Code section 13102 requires local elections officials to provide vote-by-mail and polling place voters with a nonpartisan ballot unless they ask for a ballot that would allow them to vote in a particular party’s primary. The law does not specify how local elections officials are to let decline-to-state voters know they have such an option.
How can I find out where my polling place is?
You can look up your polling place at http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/elections_ppl.htm. If you can’t find your polling place, you are permitted to cast a provisional ballot at any polling place in the county in which you are registered to vote.
What is the difference between presidential “delegates” and “electors?”
Presidential candidates will be awarded a certain number of delegates based on how they finish in the February 5, 2008, Presidential Primary Election. Those delegates then participate in their party’s national convention. Electors are people who are members of the Electoral College and who will vote for President on the first Monday after the second Wednesday in December (after the November 4, 2008, General Election).
How are presidential primary delegates awarded in each political party?
Each party awards its delegates differently according to their respective bylaws and statutes. For more information about the six different political parties in California, you can find out how to contact them directly at http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/elections_f.htm.
Why are the presidential candidates not listed in the Secretary of State’s official Voter Information Guides?
Elections Code section 9084 specifies what information is to be included in the statewide official Voter Information Guides, and this statute does not make any reference to presidential candidates.
However, candidate statements are available at http://voterguide.sos.ca.gov/cand_state/cand_statements.html.
Initiative and Referendum Measures
About the Secretary of State's Election Results Website
Why aren’t the vote totals for write-in candidates included on the Secretary of State’s website?
County elections officials must read and tabulate write-in votes by hand. This occurs after most votes are tallied for all the candidates listed on the ballot (after the semifinal official canvass period is completed).
Elections Code section 15375(c) requires county elections officials to report vote totals for write-in candidates to the Secretary of State 28 days after the election.
Why are some presidential candidates listed under more than one political party?
Presidential candidates are not required to be registered voters of the political party whose ballot they run on. More than one political party may request that a particular candidate be placed on their ballot. Both the Green and Peace & Freedom parties included Ralph Nader and Cynthia McKinney on their primary ballots.
Why are presidential candidates only compared to candidates from the same party, instead of being compared to all other candidates on one full list?
This is a primary election, not a general election. Candidate vote totals in other parties have no impact on each party’s nomination.
Why have some counties reported precincts and vote totals, while other counties have not reported any results?
Each county elections office processes its ballots differently. Elections Code section 15151 requires county elections officials to send their initial results to the Secretary of State’s office no more than two hours after they begin tallying the votes after polls close on election night. Elections offices continue to report results periodically until all precinct vote totals have been reported.
Why do some counties show no precincts having reported, yet they are reporting that votes have been counted?
Elections Code section 15101 allows voters to cast ballots up to 29 days before Election Day, and many voters do this by voting by mail. Elections Code section 15101 allows counties to begin opening vote-by-mail ballots up to seven business days before Election Day, but those results cannot be accessed or shared with the public until the polls close at 8:00 p.m. on Election Day.
Many elections officials choose to tally and report these early voted ballots first, instead of waiting for ballots or results to come in from the individual precincts. As a result, because no full precincts have been tallied and reported, the results from these early voted ballots that are reported to the Secretary of State’s website simply appear as raw vote totals because in this initial stage, they are not attributed to individual precincts.
What happens to vote-by-mail ballots that are not processed in advance of Election Day, including those that are dropped off at a polling place or county elections office on Election Day?
All valid vote-by-mail ballots that county elections officials determine have been cast by eligible voters are counted and included in the official election results. Elections Code sections 15375(c) and (e) give elections officials 28 days to complete this process for presidential primary candidates and gives county elections officials 35 days for statewide ballot measures. This time period is often referred to as the "official canvass."
When are provisional ballots counted?
Provisional ballots are those ballots cast by voters who believe they are registered to vote, but their names do not appear on the official voter registration list. Voters who believe the official voter registration list incorrectly lists their political party affiliation can also vote provisionally. Finally, voters who receive a vote-by-mail ballot but arrive at the polls requesting the opportunity to vote in person because they cannot locate their vote-by-mail ballot are asked to use a provisional ballot to ensure they do not cast two ballots. All provisional ballots that county elections officials determine have been cast by eligible voters are counted and added to the official vote tally.
Elections Code sections 15375(c) and (e) give elections officials 28 days to complete this process for presidential primary candidates and gives county elections officials 35
How does the Election Results Viewer determine what qualifies as a "close contest?"
A close contest is one in which there is less than a 2% difference between first and second place.
Will the results change after election night? If so, when will all of the election results be final and official?
Results will be updated after all provisional ballots and vote-by-mail ballots are tallied. Depending on the volume of these types of ballots, it may take many more days for county elections officials to verify voter records and determine if ballots have been cast by eligible voters. Furthermore, results may be adjusted based on the results of post-election manual tally processes, frequently referred to as post-election audit processes, that are required by law.
How often these results are updated will vary based on the size of each county and the process each local elections office uses to tally and report votes.
Elections Code section 15375(c) requires elections officials to report their final results for presidential primary candidates to the Secretary of State 28 days after Election Day, which for this election is March 4. Elections Code section 15375 (e) requires elections officials to report their final results for statewide ballot measures to the Secretary of State 35 days after Election Day, which for this election is March 11. This time period is often referred to as the "official canvass."
The Secretary of State then has four more days to certify the results of the election which, in this case, is March 8 for presidential primary candidates and March 15 for statewide ballot measures.
