A webinar was organized by the Dolores Huerta’s foundation to discuss the importance of voting on Oct. 8. The talk was both translated in English and Spanish.
The talk started with their hosts: America Ferrera and Cristina Alonzo, along with sec. Alex Padilla and Dolores Huerta. The talk was about the importance of voting this next Nov. 3 and some information that would help the people that are hesitating to vote or have some issues with their ballot.
Padilla explained that they make sure that in California people have multiple options to vote. If someone does not receive their ballot by mail, then this person could go to the website vote.ca.org to check their voting status. He explained that all ballots are being sent by mid-October, so if someone does not get their ballot by that time, they should contact their county.
Padilla says that people can show in person to vote on Nov. 3.
Huerta explained that it is not mandatory to fill out everything that is shown in the ballot. Some people may be hesitating whether to fill out everything in their ballot, but Huerta assures that it is not necessary to do that.
“If you’re not sure about somebody you don’t know enough about them or enough about the proposition yeah you can leave it blank,” said Huerta. “It is not an examination, is not an exam, nobody is going to grade you.”
She also encourages people to visit the Dolores Huerta Foundation’s website if someone is still hesitating about prepositions and all their information. She also explained that if someone wants to get more information about a preposition, they could go to groups that would explain the preposition or go to places to be informed about it.
Huerta explained that if someone needs to help to understand some of the propositions and the points that are discussed in the ballot, it is recommendable to go ahead and join groups or ask people who may have that information.
Some young people’s votes are rejected because, according to Padilla, that people do not send their votes on time. They have to send their votes before the deadline if they are voting by mail. Another reason is that some people do not sign the ballot, which is mandatory to have a valid vote; if not, some people might use another sign that is not registered in their documents such as their ID or Driver’s License.
Padilla explained that Oct. 19 is the last day to reister to vote. If someone misses the deadline, then it is possible to vote in person. But just in person, and he would recommend going early.
Huerta added that she would have a guide if people need it.
Padilla then explained that they have different systems to make sure the people are safe voting. Not only for COVID-19 but for harassing too. People should feel safe, and that is why, to vote, people need to go with a mask and they should wash their hands after the vote. To avoid fraud, every envelope has a unique bard code. People cannot vote twice, so once they send their votes, they cannot vote again.
It is against law to intimidate or harass voters in any way just because of their beliefs.
They finished the meeting explained that the state does not charge for the envelope to vote for email. Vote by email or in person is free so everyone can do it. They also encouraged everyone to go to vote without fear of being harassed that day.