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HOW TO MARK YOUR
BALLOT
1 HOW
TO MARK YOUR BALLOT
Remove ballot card or ballot card series from secrecy
envelope. 
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2 Vote
one card at a time. Turn each card over and examine
both sides of each card for voting opportunities.
Fill in the small rectangle in the square to the right
of the candidates or measure of your choice.
 Do
not fill in the whole square, just the small rectangle,
or your vote may be invalid. Use only the marking
pen provided to mark your ballot.
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| 3 WRITE-IN
VOTE
If you wish to vote for a qualified write-in candidate:
Write the person’s name in the
blank space provided for that purpose after the names
of the other candidates for the same office, and
FILL IN THE RECTANGLE in the square
to the right of the name you have written in, or your
vote may be invalid.
Do not write-in the name of a candidate
whose name is already printed on the ballot for the
same office. Only votes for qualified write-in candidates
will be counted. 4
After you have completed voting, place your ballot
cards, with the numbered stubs at the top, in the
secrecy envelope and hand it, along with the marking
pen, to the precinct officer.
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4  After
you have completed voting, place your ballot cards,
with the numbered stubs at the top, in the secrecy
envelope and hand it, along with the marking pen,
to the precinct officer.
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DAMAGED BALLOTS
If you make an error or damage any ballot card, place
ALL cards in the secrecy envelope and return to precinct
officer for a new ballot.
You are only entitled to two replacement ballots. |
OVER VOTES
Candidates:
If you mark a vote for more candidates (including write-in
candidates) than designated in the “Vote for”
heading, your vote(s) for that contest will not be counted.
Do not write-in the name of a candidate whose name is
printed on the ballot for that office. |
 Measures
or Propositions:
If you mark more than one vote for or against a measure
or proposition, your vote for that measure or proposition
will not be counted.
If you incorrectly mark your ballot,
place ALL cards in the secrecy envelope and return
to precinct officer for a new ballot. |
UNDER VOTES
An under vote is recorded when a ballot is marked
with fewer choices than the voter is permitted.
Under votes shall be recorded for each office or measure.
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Examples:
 If
a voter is permitted to vote for one candidate or
vote yes or no on a measure, and the voter does not
mark a choice, no vote is counted and an under vote
is recorded.
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 Further,
if a voter is permitted to vote for more than one
candidate and the voter marks fewer candidates than
permitted, the vote(s) for the candidate(s) is/are
counted and under vote(s) is/are recorded for the
remaining number for which the voter was entitled
to vote.
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INSTRUCTIONS FOR VOTING
AT POLLING PLACE
Post six (6) of these posters in and about
the polling place.
HOURS POLLS ARE OPEN:
The polls are open from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. on Election
Day.
RECIEPT OF BALLOT:
Unless otherwise provided by law, no person shall apply
for or receive any ballot at any precinct other than that
in which the voter is entitled to vote, nor shall a voter
receive a ballot from any person other than one of the precinct
officers. No person other than a precinct officer or officer
authorized by law shall deliver a ballot to any voter. (EC
§ 14279, 14280)
HOW TO OBTAIN YOUR BALLOT:
Any person desiring to vote shall announce his/her name
and address in an audible tone of voice. When one of the
precinct officers finds the name in the index, the officer
shall, in a like manner, repeat the name and address. The
voter shall then write his/her name and residence address
or, if the voter is unable to write, shall have the name
and residence address written by another person on a roster
of voters provided for that purpose. Any challenges may
then be interposed as provided by the elections code. If
the surname of any person offering to vote has been changed
since the person has registered, the person shall sign his/her
name as it was before the change and also the appropriate
name as it is at the time the person votes, indicating on
the roster on the same lin, by brackets or other means,
that the two names are the name of one person. (EC §
14216, 14218)
PROVISIONAL VOTER:
At all elections, a voter claiming to be properly registered
but whose qualification or entitlement to vote cannot be
immediately established upon examination of the index of
registration for the precinct or upon examination of the
records on file with the county elections official, or a
voter who moved within the county but did not re-register
to vote, or a voter who requested a Vote By Mail ballot but
cannot surrender it to the precinct officer, or a voter
who is a first time federal election voter and is unable
to provide proof of identification, shall be entitled to
vote a provisional ballot. The precinct officer shall advise
the voter of the voters right to cast a provisional ballot.
The voter shall be provided a provisional ballot and written
instructions regarding the process and procedures for casting
the provisional ballot. (EC § 14310(a), 14217)
FIRST TIME FEDERAL ELECTION VOTER –
HELP AMERICA VOTE ACT:
Under HAVA Section 303 (b), voters who register by mail
in Madera County on or after January 1, 2003, who have not
previously voted in a federal election in Butte County,
and who do not submit identification with their registrations,
or who have not had their driver license number or the last
four digits of their Social Security Number verified, must
provide valid identification before voting. The roster of
voters at the polling place will indicate “ID Required”
on the line next to the voter’s name. Voters subject
to the identification requirement must show appropriate
identification prior to voting in order to vote a regular
ballot. Voters who do not present the proper ID can vote
by provisional ballot. Provisional ballots will be counted
after the eligibility to vote is determined by the elections
official.
HOW TO MARK THE BALLOT:
The Mark-A-Vote optical scan voting system is used at all
elections governed by the California Elections Code in Madera
County. The ballot may consist of one ballot card or a series
of ballot cards (A, B, C, etc.). Turn each card over and
examine both sides of each card for voting opportunities.
The marking device is a machine-readable pen the voter will
use to record votes on the optical scan ballot card. All
ballots, except Vote By Mail ballots, shall be marked
only with the marking device provided by law. Use only the
marking device provided by the precinct officer to fill
in the small rectangle in the square to the right of the
candidates or measures of your choice. Do not fill in the
whole square. Just fill in the small rectangle or your vote
may not be counted. Before each voter enters the voting
booth, the precinct board shall inform the voter or provide
a demonstration on how to properly mark the ballot and how
to place the ballot card(s) in the secrecy envelope with
the numbered stubs at the top. If any voter, after entering
the booth, asks for information regarding the operation
of the device, the precinct board shall give him/her the
information. The device for marking the ballot may be handed
to the voter with his/her ballot before the voter goes into
the voting booth, and shall be returned to the precinct
board after he/she has finished marking his/her ballot.
(Mark-A-Vote Voting System procedures, EC § 14284,
14272, 14273)
On receiving a ballot, the precinct officer
shall direct the voter to one of the booths or compartments
provided to vote the ballot in privacy. Nothing contained
in state law shall prevent a voter from being accompanied
by another person into the voting booth if:
(a) the voter is being accompanied by a child or children
under the age of 18 years and the child is, or children
are, under the voter's care.
(b) the voter is eligible under the assisted-voter provisions.
Voters shall not remain in or occupy the
booths or compartments longer than is necessary to mark
their ballots, which shall not exceed 10 minutes. However,
where no other voter would be inconvenienced, a longer period
shall be allowed. (EC § 14281, 14222, 14224)
HOW TO CAST YOUR VOTE:
Before leaving the voting booth or compartment, the voter
shall place the ballot card(s) in the secrecy envelope with
the numbered stubs at the top, to be removed by the precinct
board (EC § 14275). The voter shall deliver the ballot
in the secrecy envelope to a member of the precinct board,
who shall, in the presence of the voter, remove the numbered
stubs and hand them to the voter and deposit the voted ballot
in the ballot box. (EC § 14293)
SECRECY TO BE PRESERVED:
No voter shall place any mark upon a ballot that will make
that ballot identifiable (EC § 14287). After the ballot
is marked, a voter shall not show it to any person in such
a way as to reveal its contents (EC § 14291). No voter
shall deliver to any member of the precinct board any ballot
other than the one received from the precinct board (EC
§ 14295). No person, other than a member of the precinct
board, shall receive a voted ballot from the voter. No person
may examine or solicit the voter to show his or her voted
ballot (EC § 18403). Every member of a precinct board
is guilty of a misdemeanor who, without the consent of a
voter, discloses the name of any candidate the board member
has discovered in his capacity as a member of the board
to have been voted for by the voter (EC § 18563). Members
of the precinct board shall not deposit in the ballot container
any ballot from which the slip containing the number of
the ballot has not been removed by a member of the precinct
board and handed to the voter. This section does not apply
to voting by Vote By Mail ballot. (EC § 14225)
ELECTIONEERING NEAR POLLING PLACE:
No person, on election day, shall, within 100 feet of a
polling place circulate an initiative, referendum, recall,
or nomination petition or any other petition; solicit a
vote or speak to a voter on the subject of marking his/her
ballot; place a sign relating to voters' qualifications
or speak to a voter on the subject of his/her qualifications
except as provided in Section 14240. No person, including
precinct officers, shall do any electioneering on Election
Day within 100 feet of the polling place. As used in this
section, "100 feet of a polling place" means a
distance 100 feet from the room(s) in which voters are signing
the roster and casting ballots. Any person who violates
any of the provisions of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor.
(EC § 18370)
DESTROYING OR REMOVING SUPPLIES:
No person, during any election, shall do any of the following:
(1) Remove or destroy any of the supplies or other conveniences
placed in the voting booths or compartments for the purpose
of enabling the voter to prepare his or her ballot.
(2) Remove, tear down, or deface the cards printed for the
instruction of voters.
(3) Remove, tear, mark or otherwise deface any voter index
with the intent to falsify or prevent others from readily
ascertaining the name, address, or political affiliation
of any voter, or the fact that a voter has or has not voted.
(4) Remove, tear down, or deface the signs identifying the
location of a polling place, or identifying areas, within
100 feet of a polling place.
Any person who violates any of the provisions
of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor. (EC § 18380)
BALLOT OFFENSES:
Every person is punishable by imprisonment in the state
prison for 16 months, or two, or three, or four years who:
(a) Forges or counterfeits returns of an election purported
to have been held at a precinct where no election was in
fact held.
(b) Willfully substitutes forged or counterfeit returns
of an election in the place of true returns for a precinct
where an election was actually held.
(c) Willfully adds to or subtracts from the votes actually
cast at an election, in any official or unofficial returns,
or who alters the returns.
(d) Aids in changing or destroying any poll list or official
ballot.
(e) Aids in wrongfully placing any ballots in, or removing
any ballots from, the ballot container.
(f) Adds or attempts to add any ballots to those legally
polled at any election by fraudulently putting them into
the ballot container, either before or after the ballots
therein have been counted.
(g) Adds to or mixes with, or attempts to add to or mix
with, the ballots polled, or any other ballots, while they
are being counted or canvassed or at any other time, with
intent to change the result of the election, or allows another
to do so, when it is in his or her power to prevent it.
(h) Carries away or destroys, or attempts to carry away
or destroy, or knowingly allows another to carry away or
destroy, any poll list, ballot container, or ballots lawfully
polled or who willfully detains, mutilates, or destroys
any election returns.
(i) Removes any unvoted ballots from the polling place before
the completion of the ballot count. (EC § 18566, 18567,
18568, 18569)
Every person who aids or abets in the commission
of any of the offenses mentioned above is punishable by
imprisonment in the county jail for a period of six months
or in the state prison for 16 months, or two, or three years.
(EC §?18569)
VIOLATION OF ELECTION LAWS:
Every person who aides or abets in the commission of any
of the offenses mentioned in the provisions of the laws
of this State relating to elections is punishable by imprisonment
in the county jail for a period of six months or in the
state prison for 16 months, or two, or three, or four years,
or by a fine not exceeding ten thousand dollars ($10,000),
or by both the fine and imprisonment or the punishments
prescribed by law.
MADERA COUNTY VOTER HOTLINE
If you believe your voter rights have been violated or if
you are aware of any elections fraud or misconduct call
1 (800) 435-0509.
