You’ve filled out that lengthy 2026 general election ballot and shipped it off in the mail or dropped it in one of the boxes scattered around town.
But now what? How do you know if your ballot has been received or even accepted?
The easiest way to check is through the California secretary of state’s website: california.ballottrax.net.
You’ll input your first and last name, date
You’ll input your first and last name, date of birth and ZIP code. You may also need to select a button that lets the website know you are, indeed, a real human and not a robot.
From there, you’ll see the current mail ballot status: whether the ballot has been mailed, when it is received, if it has been counted and if there are issues that need to be fixed.
If your ballot was accepted, you’ll see a green circle that says “completed” along with the message: “Your ballot has been accepted! Your ballot was received by your county elections office. Thanks for voting!” It will also tell you the date that your ballot was accepted.
The secretary of state’s tracker also lets you
The secretary of state’s tracker also lets you know the date that your ballot arrived at the post office and was sent to you.
And you can sign up to receive text, phone and/or email alerts about the status of your ballot.
You can also check your county registrar’s website, which may also have a way to track the status of your ballot.
If there is an issue with your ballot,
If there is an issue with your ballot, you’ll be contacted by your county elections office or secretary of state immediately to rectify.
The most common issues with vote-by-mail ballots are missing signatures or signatures that don’t match what the voter has on file, according to the secretary of state’s office. If that happens, your county elections office will provide a form where you’ll be able to provide your signature and confirm that you’ve voted your ballot. The secretary of state encourages voters to keep an eye on their email inbox or mailbox for instructions from the county elections office and follow the appropriate instructions; otherwise, your ballot may not be counted.
For questions, reach out to your county elections official or the California secretary of state’s voter hotline at 800-345-8683.
Election Day is Tuesday, Nov
Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3. Mailed ballots must be postmarked by Nov. 3 and received no later than seven days after Election Day, so by Nov. 10.
But state election officials encourage voters who wish to vote by mail to do so sooner rather than later to ensure their ballot arrives on time to be counted. Those who vote by mail closer to Nov. 3 — and especially on Election Day itself — should go inside a post office and ask an employee to postmark their ballot on the spot to make sure it is postmarked by the deadline, election officials have said. Simply dropping your ballot off in a mailbox on Election Day won’t guarantee it will be postmarked the same day, meaning you risk your vote not counting.
During the June primary election, 148,241 mail ballots were rejected, with nearly two-thirds of the rejections due to these missed deadlines, according to the California attorney general’s office.
More information can be found at vote.ca.gov.
