envelopes

Vote-by-mail ballot envelopes are checked to ensure they’re signed and the signature matches the signature on file.

In California, county elections officials may begin opening and processing vote-by-mail ballot envelopes up to 29 days before election day but such results cannot be tallied or shared with the public until all polls close on election day.

Up to 29 days before election day, county elections officials can begin processing and verifying all vote-by-mail ballots to ensure the ballot envelopes are signed and the signatures match the signatures on file.

During the busy monthlong canvassing period that begins after polls close Tuesday, election workers will continue to scan ballots, verify voter signatures on ballot envelopes, collect late-arriving overseas ballots, adjudicate provisional votes and give voters whose ballots might be rejected a chance to fix errors or contest decisions.

Panic buttons and bulletproof glass have been installed at election offices, which are also monitoring mail for envelopes laced with fentanyl.