KQED's Forum Planning to Vote By Mail This November? What Californians Need to Know
Apr 2, 2026
Madison Aument, KVCR reporter who covers Inland Empire election controversies. Shirley Weber, California Secretary of State overseeing state elections. Kim Alexander, founder of the California Voter Foundation focused on election access. They discuss federal limits on vote-by-mail, Supreme Court timing for late ballots, ballot handling controversies like the Riverside seizure, and alternatives to mailing ballots.
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Federal Actions Threaten State Control Of Vote By Mail
- Federal moves to involve USPS and DHS in voter lists threaten state control and risk confusion around vote-by-mail administration.
- Secretary of State Shirley Weber says these actions repeat baseless fraud claims and circumvent states despite no evidence of widespread problems.
Election Day Envelope Surge Creates Processing Bottleneck
- The main bottleneck is a surge of ballots arriving in envelopes on Election Day that counties cannot process until after the election.
- Kim Alexander calls this the pig-in-the-python effect and notes counties vary widely in equipment and space.
Return Ballots Early And Use Alternate Dropoff Options
- Don't wait until Election Day to return your mail ballot; use early voting, Saturday voting, dropboxes, or in-person dropoff.
- Kim Alexander urges signing up for ballot tracking and using new Saturday voting to avoid postal delays and late rejections.