Overview
After years of research and planning, Placer County has made the decision to transition to the Voter’s Choice Act (VCA) election model, starting with the 2024 Presidential Primary Election in March of 2024.
The transition was approved by the Placer County Board of Supervisors on June 13, 2023. To view the Board item, visit https://www.placer.ca.gov/DocumentCenter/View/70082/11A.
Enacted in 2016, the California Voter’s Choice Act was designed to make voting more convenient and accessible. The law is opt-in on a county-by-county basis, and allows for a county to transition from a traditional polling place model to a vote center model.
Placer County has typically had to secure 200 to 250 polling places and conduct a massive recruiting effort for poll workers for each election, both of which have become increasingly difficult tasks over the last several years. Additionally, polling places are quite restrictive in both voting time and location – voters can only vote in person at their assigned polling place and on Election Day.
Vote centers address both these issues, reducing the number of locations required and making in-person voting possible at any location for multiple days. Placer County will have fewer machines in fewer locations, be able to provide a paper ballot to every voter, and increase voters’ access to in-person voting and/or ballot drop-off.
In comparison to polling places, vote centers are open for several days preceding an election and are not restricted to the voters of a particular precinct. All voters (including those living in mail ballot-only precincts) can vote in person at any vote center.
VCA also requires counties that opt in to provide at least one ballot drop box for every 15,000 registered voters. As a convenience for their voters, Placer County has met and exceeded this requirement every election since 2020.
To ensure that every eligible voter has unimpeded access to casting their ballot during an election, VCA requires participating counties to hold regular community advisory meetings with disability and language community groups. You can learn more about Placer County’s Voter Accessibility Advisory Committee and Language Accessibility Advisory Committee by clicking here.
For more general information about VCA and its requirements, visit these pages:
A transition to the Voter’s Choice Act election model requires the Placer County Elections Office to consider many socio-economic and logistical factors when choosing the locations of both our vote centers and ballot drop boxes. Clink the link below for a demonstration of the different aspects the Elections Office considered in their selections.
Casting a Ballot
See main page: Placer County Tentative Vote Center Locations
The Voter’s Choice Act was enacted to provide eligible voters with more choice and control over their vote in an election.
Choose HOW to vote
With a vote center (VCA) election model, voters will have more opportunities to vote in person, deciding when and where they prefer to vote. Voters are no longer assigned a specific polling place and will be able to cast their ballot in person, at any location, over the course of 4 to 11 days.
Additionally, all eligible California voters are issued a vote-by-mail ballot for each election, as required by law. Over 85% of Placer County voters utilized this voting option during the last election, a trend that seems likely to continue. With VCA, voters can send us their ballot in the mail, drop it in an official ballot drop box beginning 29 days before an election, or return it to any vote center.
Choose WHERE to vote
All active voters will be able to vote in person at any vote center in Placer County during the voting period. Paper ballots are printed on demand to reflect your local contests, districts and representatives, and counted on site.
Choose WHEN to vote
All vote centers will be open for at least eight (8) hours per day for a minimum of four (4) days, starting the Saturday before Election Day (Election Day hours are 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.). A few vote centers will open for eleven (11) days, a full week longer. Voters can visit our main office in Rocklin and cast their ballots even earlier, up to 29 days before the election.
Drop Boxes
See main page: Placer County Drop Box Locations & Hours
With 27 drop boxes, Placer County is well above the minimum ratio required by VCA of one box per 15,000 registered voters. (See our voter registration statistics here: Placer County Registration Statistics.)
For the 2024 election cycle, we have added Sierra College as our 27th drop box location and attempted to transition some boxes to more accessible and visible locations. We have also converted as many drop boxes as possible to permanently affixed locations, placing them curbside to allow for drive-up drop off accessibility.
In addition to meeting all state drop box requirements, Placer County’s exterior drop boxes are manufactured using high grade, heavy gauge stainless steel by a US security cabinet company. Bolted securely into concrete with double-locking access doors, cam locks and anti-pry door jams, our drop boxes also include fire suppression and anti-phishing technologies. Boxes are emptied by vetted elections staff in teams of two and employ chain-of-custody and seal requirements.
We will post the schedule and routes for retrieving ballots from our drop boxes on our website prior to each election. If you are interested in observing ballot retrieval (or any other election process), please let us know.
Accessibility
Voting Accessibility
If you require certain accommodations, election officials will ensure you have all the help you need to cast your vote successfully and independently. Vote centers contain accessible ballot marking devices, allow curbside voting, and are surveyed for accessibility based on ADA guidelines.
For those voters who are unable to visit a vote center during the voting period or vote using their vote-by-mail ballot, our Remote Accessible Vote by Mail (RAVBM) voting option allows them to access and mark their ballot using their home computers and assistive devices. To ensure voters’ privacy, the system does not store or transmit selections over the internet; instead, the ballot is marked then printed and returned by mail, drop box or in person. For more information on RAVBM, visit: https://www.placercountyelections.gov/remote-accessible-vote-by-mail-2/
Language Accessibility
To meet the diverse language needs of targeted communities throughout the county, vote centers will provide facsimile ballots in all the precinct/language combinations as required by California Elections Code. Placer County services the following languages: Spanish, Tagalog, Korean, and Punjabi in identified precincts based on census data. Additionally, the Placer County Elections Office will automatically send facsimile ballots (by mail or email, based on their identified preference) to those voters in a covered precinct with a required language.
We make every effort to recruit staff fluent in those languages identified above. For all other languages, a language helpline will be available at all vote centers.
Voter Education Workshops
To ensure all eligible Placer County registered voters are able to cast their ballots independently and privately, the Placer County Elections Office conducted language and accessibility workshops for voters who may need additional assistance.
Recordings of each workshop are available below.
For more information, call 530-886-5670 or email [email protected].
Press Release: Placer County Elections Office to Hold Voter Education Workshops
Advisory Committees
See main page: Placer County Advisory Committees
To ensure that all eligible voters have unimpeded access to participating in County elections, Placer County has revitalized its Voting Accessibility Advisory Committee (VAAC) and created a Language Accessibility Advisory Committee (LAAC).
These two committees provide a forum where community members and advocates can offer advice, information and feedback on elections practices and materials to help our office ensure that voters are able to cast their ballots both independently and privately.
For more information on both committees, visit: https://www.placercountyelections.gov/advisory-committee/
Election Administration Plan
A transition to the California Voter’s Choice Act (VCA) election model requires the County to develop an Election Administration Plan (EAP). The EAP is intended to provide transparency and inform voters on all aspects of the VCA transition, as well as how the new model will affect future elections. This includes the vote-by-mail process, the services and information available at vote center and ballot drop box locations, and information specific to voters with disabilities and diverse language needs.
California SOS Office Approves Placer County EAP and Transition to VCA
Approved Placer County Election Administration Plan – 2023
Remote Log-In Information for EAP Public Hearing
When: Sep 25, 2023 @ 10:00 AM Pacific Time (US and Canada)
Please click the link below to join the webinar:
https://placer-ca-gov.zoom.us/j/99149453601
Or Telephone: +1 888 788 0099 US Toll Free or 877 853 5247 US Toll Free
Webinar ID: 991 4945 3601
Community Input
As part of the EAP development process, Placer County will conduct public consultation meetings with disability and language communities on August 28, 2023 (08/28/2023) at the Elections Office at 3715 Atherton Road in Rocklin.
Public Notice of Community Consultation Meeting on Draft EAP
Disability Community Meeting @ 2:00 p.m.
- Disability and Senior Communities Consultation meeting PPT
- Placer County Elections Admin Plan – DRAFT with Attachments
- Drop Box Accessibility
Please click the link below to join the webinar:
https://placer-ca-gov.zoom.us/j/92718838748
Or Telephone:
+1 877 853 5247 US Toll-free or 888 788 0099 US Toll-free
Webinar ID: 927 1883 8748
Language Community Meeting @ 3:30 p.m.
- Language Communities Consultation meeting PPT
- Placer County Elections Admin Plan – DRAFT with Attachments
- VOTE CENTER REQ LANGUAGES
Please click the link below to join the webinar:
https://placer-ca-gov.zoom.us/j/95817384096
Or Telephone:
+1 877 853 5247 US Toll-Free or 888 788 0099 US Toll-Free
Webinar ID: 958 1738 4096
Any pertinent information or recommendations received during these meetings will be incorporated into the draft EAP before it is officially released for public review and comment. We have included the most current version of our working draft here.
To RSVP to either public consultation meeting, or to offer recommendations to improve the EAP, please email [email protected] or call 1-800-824-8683 (toll-free).
A public hearing on the draft EAP is tentatively scheduled for September 25, 2023 (09/25/2023).
All public consultation meetings will include a remote attendance option to enable participants to attend virtually. Those links can be provided upon request and will be posted on this site.
We welcome your comments, recommendations and questions. Please reach out to [email protected] or by calling us toll-free at 1-800-824-8683.