By admin 
Ballots have been mailed out to all registered voters for the upcoming Tuesday, Nov. 3 election.
Read more Federal audit: California Volunteers mismanaged $10.8M in AmeriCorps grants
As you’re preparing to cast your vote for one of the many positions up for election you may have questions on what to do if you get multiple ballots in the mail or someone else’s ballot.
The Sacramento Bee spoke with Ken Casparis, Public Information Manager of Sacramento County, on voting procedures and resources.
Here’s what you need to know:
What to do if you receive duplicate ballots?
Duplication of ballots is often triggered by changes including a voter’s last name, address and party affiliation after the initial ballot is mailed.
“Every once in a while, and it is pretty rare, voters may receive two ballots,” said Casparis. “If voters do receive two ballots, it’s important for them to remember that they still only get one vote.”
Voters are reminded to use the second ballot because it is the one with the most updated information.
But what do you do with that additional ballot? Casparis has a simple solution.
“Destroy it. [Voters] can shred it, tear it up, do whatever they want with it. Just don’t try to vote with it and send it back to us,” said Casparis.
Safeguards are in place to prevent voting twice, according to Sacramento County. Only the first ballot received by election officials is counted, and the Election Management System is updated in real time to prevent the issue of a second ballot being returned to a Vote Center or in the mail.
Furthermore, these safeguards also detect if a voter tried to vote twice in separate counties in the state.
Read more Kiley and Pan spar over voting records, ties to Republicans and Democrats
What to do if you receive someone else ballot?
If you receive a ballot that isn’t addressed to you, Casparis said there are printed instructions on the envelope to help people in this situation.
There is a box on the front of the envelope that can be checked off if a voter is deceased or has moved. Just check the appropriate box and drop it back in the mail.
Once received, elections officials will update the voter’s file.
How to track your ballot?
If you would like to know the status of your vote-by-mail ballot then check out Where’s My Ballot?
Through this tracking site, you can receive notifications on the status of your vote-by-mail ballot.
Why is it important to vote early?
Casparis said every election year, all anyone talks about is why it takes so long to count California’s votes.
“It takes a long time because roughly half of our voters in Sacramento County wait until election day to vote either in person or by mail or ballot drop box,” he said.
The day after election day hundreds of thousands of ballots have to be processed and signatures verified on every mail-in ballot.
“The earlier people get their ballots back to us, the sooner we can start working through that, the processing,” said Casparis. “If people could vote early, that would be fantastic. We would be forever grateful.”
Read more Can California fix its insurance crisis? Candidates debate as Election Day nears