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Secretary of State Weber Announces 11 New Voter’s Choice Act Counties
SACRAMENTO – California Secretary of State Shirley N. Weber, Ph.D. has announced that 11 new California counties have adopted the Voter’s Choice Act (VCA) election model while two more counties will complete their transition to the voting model later this year.
“We are proud to announce that number of VCA counties will nearly double from the current 15 to a total of 28 counties statewide in 2022,” Secretary Weber said. “As a part of California’s efforts to provide eligible voters more convenience and flexibility, VCA counties will provide more opportunities to choose how, when and where voters cast their ballots.”
In addition to the vote-by-mail options available to all Californians, voters in VCA counties will have up to 10 days of in-person voting and the choice of casting their ballot at one of several voting locations within their county.
New counties adopting the voluntary VCA model this year include Alameda, Marin, Merced, Riverside, San Benito, San Diego, Santa Cruz, Sonoma, Stanislaus, Ventura, and Yolo. Two additional counties are currently under local review and are awaiting board approval.
Amador, Butte, Calaveras, El Dorado, Fresno, Los Angeles, Madera, Mariposa, Napa, Nevada, Orange, Sacramento, Santa Clara, San Mateo and Tuolumne adopted the model in previous years.
“As election administration continues to evolve as a result of the pandemic, the transition to VCA allows us to proactively adapt to our ever-changing election environment,” said Yolo County Registrar of Voters Jesse Salinas. “The VCA model will provide even more voting opportunities for our residents.”
“Working with our community and county partners, we are excited to move to the full vote center model and have our voter service centers open for more days in more locations,” said Santa Cruz County Registrar of Voters, Tricia Webber.
“By giving voters more days and more ways to vote, these new Voter’s Choice Act counties have an enormous opportunity to make voting more convenient and accessible for working voters as well as voters from historically underrepresented communities,” said Stephanie Doute, Executive Director for the League of Women Voters of California. “Democracy belongs to us all, so we applaud these counties for moving forward to increase access and participation.”
More information on the Voter’s Choice Act can be found at the Secretary of State’s website.