Looking at election results, you may see that some ballots are not “cured” and can not be counted. “What is ballot curing?” you may ask. “Are the ballots sick?”

“Uncured” ballots have some issue that prevents them from being validated and counted.

The Orange County Registrar’s Office must determine if ballots are qualified to be counted. Ballots that are not returned on time are not valid. There can be other reasons, but a common problem is the signature on the ballot does not match the signature that the OC Registrar has on file.

“You have the right to be notified when the signature on your vote-by-mail or provisional envelope is missing or your signature does not match the one on file with the elections official. You may receive this notice from your county elections office through the mail, telephone, email, or from the Secretary of State’s BallotTrax program stating, “Your ballot for the March Election has been received, but we are having trouble processing it.” According to the California  Secretary of State.

Voters have until December 1 to fix the problem (if fixable) and make sure they are counted.

The list of “uncured ballots” is available to the public from the Orange County Recorder’s Office upon request.

Here is a list containing some contact info for affected voters.

• Where is my Ballot: https://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/ballot-status/wheres-my-ballot
• Did you mis-key your information? Did you key in your information to match how you are registered? You can double-check your voter registration information at VoterStatus.sos.ca.gov and ensure your first name, last name, and zip code all match with what you’re entering.
• To obtain your voter ID, you may contact your county elections official at www.sos.ca.gov/elections/ voting-resources/county-elections-offces.
• Alternatively, you may contact the VoteCal HelpDesk at 888-868-3225 or VoteCalHelp@sos.ca.gov. Once you receive your voter ID, enter it into the field requesting it.
• In addition to the Registrar’s office reaching out via mail to affected voters, other organizations including political parties can assist in the effort to inform voters their ballots were rejected.

Republican, Democrat and nonpartisan organizations use the uncured ballot list to contact voters. They may contact via phone, or go to the address to inform the voter that their ballot was rejected and give instructions to the voter on how to fix the issue.

In the example of the 45^th congressional district where incumbent Michelle Steel is neck and neck with challenger Derek Tran, both sides are supporting efforts to contact voters whose ballots have been rejected in a process called curing ballots.

Likewise, the organization Grass Roots Democrats HQ is assisting in the ballot-curing effort. Tamara Levenson, executive director, said that they help manage volunteers who help with the outreach to voters. County officials must report final results to the California Secretary of State by December 3. The Secretary of State will certify the results on December 13.