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Your ballot starts landing in the mailbox October 5: four steps to make sure it counts, and where to drop it off near Bolsa

Starting Monday, October 5, 2026, the Orange County Registrar of Voters mails a vote-by-mail ballot to every registered voter for the November 3 General Election. The registration deadline is October 19, and mailed ballots must be postmarked by Election Day — and a missing or mismatched signature can hold up a ballot, including your parents'.

September 25, 2026

Summary — 3 things to remember
  1. If you're registered, the ballot comes to you. No request needed. The Registrar starts mailing October 5 to the address on file. Check your registration and address at voterstatus.sos.ca.gov (available in Vietnamese) or call (714) 567-⁠7600. Register by October 19; after that you can still register conditionally at any Vote Center through November 3.
  2. Vote, put the ballot in the envelope with your name on it, then sign and date the back. No stamp needed. Three ways to return it: mail (postmarked by November 3), a ballot drop box (open 24/7 from October 5), or any Vote Center (opening October 24). Westminster has 4 drop boxes, Garden Grove 6, Fountain Valley 3.
  3. You can track the ballot — and fix a signature problem. Sign up for alerts at wheresmyballot.sos.ca.gov or ocvote.gov/track. If a signature is missing or doesn't match, the Registrar mails you a notice; you have until 5 p.m. on November 25 to confirm it. Lost ballot? Request a replacement by October 27, or pick one up at a Vote Center.

What's happening

Tuesday, November 3, 2026 is the General Election. Californians vote for governor and the other statewide offices, for Congress and the state Legislature, and on 14 state propositions. In Orange County, the same ballot carries city seats, school board seats and local measures.

Since 2020, Orange County has run elections on the Vote Center model. According to the Registrar of Voters, every registered voter automatically gets a vote-by-mail ballot. There is nothing to request. There is no longer one assigned polling place per neighborhood.

Ballots go out starting Monday, October 5, 2026, to the address in each voter's registration record. The county Voter Information Guide arrives first, between September 24 and October 13. The state guide goes out in the same window.

Picture a household in Westminster. Grandma and Grandpa have been registered for years and vote by mail out of habit. Their son just moved back from Garden Grove and never updated his registration address. Their granddaughter just turned 18 and has never registered. Three people, three different to-do lists.

What's on your ballot

Ballot length depends on where you live. According to the Registrar's "Contests Qualified for the Ballot" list, residents of the three cities around Bolsa will see:

What each measure does, with the arguments for and against, is in the Voter Information Guide. The county guide is printed in Vietnamese; the state guide has a Vietnamese version online at voterguide.sos.ca.gov.

Dates for the fridge

Every date below comes from the official calendars of the Orange County Registrar of Voters and the California Secretary of State.

Step 1 — Check your registration and address this week

The ballot only goes to the address on your registration. If someone in your house moved and never updated it, their ballot goes to the old place.

Three ways to check:

Not registered, or need to change an address, name or party? Go to registertovote.ca.gov (there's a Vietnamese version at registertovote.ca.gov/vi). The deadline is the end of Monday, October 19. A paper form has to be postmarked by that day. The Registrar says paper forms are available at post offices, libraries, city halls and the DMV.

Back to our household: the son updates his address before October 19. The 18-year-old registers for the first time. The grandparents double-check — and add a phone number and email to their record. Why? See Step 5.

Missing the October 19 deadline doesn't mean losing the vote. From October 20 through November 3, you can go to any Vote Center, or the Registrar's office, register conditionally (conditional voter registration) and vote on the spot. That ballot is a provisional ballot: it's counted once the Registrar verifies the registration.

Step 2 — Getting the ballot

The packet contains the ballot, a postage-paid return envelope and an instruction sheet. Your name is printed on the envelope.

Anyone can request a Vietnamese-language ballot and materials. According to the Registrar's website, the request has to be in no later than seven days before Election Day — October 27. Call (714) 567-⁠7600, or update the "language preference" in the registration record at ocvote.gov/registration.

Mid-October and still no ballot? Three things, in order:

Damaged the ballot or filled in too many wrong boxes? Same thing — request a replacement. The Registrar's instructions say to call before Election Day.

For someone who can't get out and doesn't use the internet, there's another route. The Registrar has an "Application to Provide Vote-By-Mail Ballot to Representative." The representative brings the form to the Registrar's office, signs it in front of staff, and takes the ballot back to the voter. The Registrar also offers an electronic ballot, called Remote Accessible Vote-by-Mail, to every voter: download it, mark it on a computer, print it and return it like a regular ballot.

Step 3 — Vote, then sign the envelope

From the Registrar's 2026 vote-by-mail instructions:

The signature is the part that matters most. According to the Secretary of State, the Registrar compares the signature on the envelope with the one in the voter's registration record. If a grandchild signs for Grandma, it won't match. If nobody signs, the envelope isn't opened. Both problems can be fixed (Step 5), but each costs a round of mail.

Shaky hands, a signature that's changed over the years? Sign the way you sign now. A mismatched signature has a cure process. According to the Registrar's accessibility page, a voter who needs help reading or marking the ballot can bring up to two people along to a Vote Center. Vote Centers also have ballot-marking devices with large text and audio, and curbside voting.

Step 4 — Returning it: three ways

Way 1 — Mail. No stamp. The envelope must be postmarked no later than November 3, and the Registrar must receive it by 5 p.m. on November 10. The Secretary of State recommends mailing at least five days before Election Day — by October 29. Mailing on November 3 itself? Go inside a post office and ask for a hand-stamped postmark.

Way 2 — Ballot drop box. Open around the clock from October 5 until 8 p.m. on November 3. From the Registrar's list for this election:

Westminster — 4 boxes, all walk-up:

Garden Grove — 6 boxes:

Fountain Valley — 3 boxes:

Also close for west Santa Ana: Albert D. Salgado Community Center, 706 N Newhope St; and the Registrar's office, 1300 S Grand Ave, Building C (drive-up available). Full map: ocvote.gov/dropbox.

Can someone else drop off your ballot? According to the Secretary of State, anyone can, as long as they aren't paid per ballot. Dropping your parents' sealed envelopes in a box on the way to work is fine. Their signatures still have to be their own.

Way 3 — Vote Center. Go to any Vote Center in Orange County — it doesn't have to be in your city. You can drop off a voted ballot, vote in person, get a replacement ballot or register conditionally. Hours: October 24–30, select centers only, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; October 31 through November 2, all centers, same hours; November 3, all centers, 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. The Registrar posts wait times once voting begins.

Four centers near Bolsa open early, on October 24:

More open October 31, among them:

Full list and map: ocvote.gov/votecenter.

Step 5 — Track it, and fix a signature

Two ways to know the ballot made it:

Signature missing, or doesn't match the record? Per the Registrar's calendar, the office mails a notice no later than November 17. If the registration record has a phone number or email, the voter gets a second notice that way. The voter then fills out a "signature verification statement" or an "unsigned ballot statement" — in person, by mail, email, fax or on a phone. The deadline is 5 p.m. on Wednesday, November 25. Vietnamese forms are at ocvote.gov/vi/voting/vote-by-mail-voting.

That's why a registration record should have a phone number and an email: a letter can arrive late; a text arrives now.

Free help

Orange County Registrar of Voters:
(714) 567-⁠7600
Toll-free: (888) 628-⁠6837
Email: ocvoter@ocvote.gov
1300 S Grand Ave, Building C, Santa Ana — at Grand Ave and McFadden Ave. Open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, plus any day Vote Centers are open.
Vietnamese-language site: ocvote.gov/vi

California Secretary of State, Vietnamese voter hotline:
(800) 339-⁠8163

Bigger than one envelope

This election, Westminster voters decide the mayor's seat, two council seats and Measure O. Garden Grove elects a mayor and three council members. Fountain Valley fills three of its five council seats. Voters in the Westminster School District decide the Measure B bond. Whatever the first nights show is preliminary; the Registrar certifies results on December 3. A ballot mailed on time, or a signature cured in time, counts right up to that day.

Bolsa Bridge does not endorse candidates or take positions on ballot measures. This article summarizes public records so you can decide for yourself.

Translation assisted by AI and reviewed by an editor.

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