Elections Division – California Secretary of State

Awesome job counting and recounting ballots this past Tuesday. Didn’t like some of the results, but that’s more personal taste then anything to do with the service.
Early voting in CA = Awesome idea. Ambience in some places could use some work, but I hear that this is a seasonal issue, so your mileage may vary.
I hear the «To Go» (re: Absentee) menus are easy. Mail in ordering? Awesome. Plus you can even drop them off to pick up, so to speak.
I do love the paperless route. Plus, it’s free. Just gotta re-​register every time you move, so kinda a pain if you’re trying to keep up with the trendier places around town.
All in all, 4 stars. Pretty decent service, no major complaints — but can we move voting day to like labor day or some other holiday? Tuesdays just don’t work that well for me.

While I think Debra Bowen is doing an all-​right job as California Secretary of State – she’s stood up to counties with paperless voting machines but has also gone after San Francisco even though our system is simple and efficient – the state voter-​information pamphlet often comes late, and it’s not always complete.
Still, I think the information is presented in a readable and complete way, and I like the fact that you can look up almost anything on the voting website. Unfortunately, it’s not designed very intuitively, so you’ll probably have to rummage around for a while in order to find what you’re looking for.

Get out the vote! I’ve never been to the state elections office in person, but I have been to the website, and I think it is great that you can get the most recent election information and voter guide information so easily:
Plus, lots of great links to district maps, absentee voting, regulations, etc. Want to know what it takes to run for Governor? They have that for you, too. What more could you want?