Sacramento County officials urge voters to fold ballots to prevent vote from showing through envelope hole, in upcoming special election.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — As mail-in ballots for California’s Nov. 4 special election begin arriving, some voters in Sacramento County are raising concerns that their marked choices may be visible through the ballot envelope.
County election officials confirm it’s possible for votes to show through one of the small holes in the return envelope. Each county designs its own ballot, so this is not a statewide issue. Officials say voters can simply fold their ballot the opposite direction so their choice doesn’t show.
But voter Doug Cater says he believes the problem shouldn’t exist in the first place.
“Definitely should get it right. This should be reviewed and done,” he told ABC10.
Cater and his family operate C Bar C Ranch on the edge of Sacramento city limits, where they raise Highland cattle. He said he filled out his ballot Wednesday morning and noticed the issue right away.
“Marked ‘no.’ Put it in the envelope. And as I put it in the envelope, I looked at it and thought, ‘Wow, my vote is visible right through the center hole,’” Cater said. “Whether it’s a ‘no’ vote or a ‘yes’ vote, you should be concerned…No one should know what your vote is either way.”
The ballot for the special election includes one question: whether to approve Proposition 50, which would establish newly redrawn congressional districts in California through the 2030 elections.
After seeing his vote visible through the envelope, Cater posted a video on social media warning others to check their ballots.
“Make sure that your vote is not visible,” he said in the post.
County spokesperson Janna Haynes said several voters raised the same concern this week. In a video statement, Haynes explained that voters can prevent the issue by folding the ballot text inside.
“Not only could you simply turn it around, but in this case we have an empty page on the other side, and so we are encouraging voters to actually fold the text inside,” Haynes told ABC10.
Haynes, the county’s public information officer for voter registration and elections, said the holes in the envelope serve important purposes.
“They not only show us whether there’s something in the envelope or not, but they guide visually impaired voters on where to sign their envelope. So the holes are not new. They have been there for a couple decades, actually,” she said.
Cater said he understands the need for the holes but believes the county should have caught the problem before mailing out ballots.
When asked how the issue got past officials, Haynes said the county doesn’t receive envelopes and ballots together during the design and printing process.
“Unfortunately, we do not get the envelopes and the ballots together when we’re designing them,” Haynes said. “Those are two different vendors that put those together and then they are stuffed and mailed out by a third party. So we don’t know that this is an issue until voters actually get their envelopes and alert us.”
She added that a similar problem occurred during the 2021 gubernatorial recall election.
“When they got this much money behind it, you’ve got to check-and-balances and make sure you got it right before it goes out,” Cater said.
Elections officials said voters who have already sealed their ballot envelope and realize their vote is showing should not reopen and reseal it, since that could appear as tampering. Instead, voters can take it to the county elections office or a vote center and request a new envelope.
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