California Secretary of State Launches VoteSure Initiative Encouraging Voter Vigilance of Election Misinformation
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California Secretary of State Alex Padilla launched the VoteSure initiative this week, a first-of-its kind statewide public education campaign to increase voter awareness about election misinformation online. The campaign includes
VoteSure.sos.ca.gov
, a new web portal with official, nonpartisan election information and resources for the November 6, 2018 General Election.
“Californians are paying attention to the
November 6
General Election, but so are those seeking to interfere with our elections by spreading misinformation,” said Secretary of State Alex Padilla. "With our new VoteSure initiative, we are reminding California voters that for reliable, official, nonpartisan information about the
November 6, 2018
General Election, they should go directly to the source: the Secretary of State's website or their local county elections office. Staying vigilant and being informed is how Californians can vote sure this election."
As part of the VoteSure initiative, voters who included an email address with their voter registration will receive email communications and resource information directly from the Secretary of State’s office. Voters can also report suspicious content on social media that may be spreading election misinformation. The VoteSure campaign will run through Election Day with paid advertisements on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
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Secretary of State Emails Official Election Information to Registered Voters
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For the first time ever, the Secretary of State's office emailed important, official election information to all registered voters in California as part of the VoteSure public education campaign. The email included important links to help voters check their registration status, find their nearest polling place and learn about early voting opportunities in their county.
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Secretary Padilla Announces 200,000 California 16 and 17 Year Olds Have Pre-registered to Vote
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California Secretary of State Alex Padilla kicked off National Voter Registration day announcing that 209,577 pre-registration transactions had been completed by California 16- and 17-year-olds since the program launched in September 2016. More than 104,000 have turned 18 and are eligible to vote in this November’s election.
“We challenged California’s youth to pre-register to vote and more than 200,000 16 and 17 year olds answered that call,” said Secretary of State Alex Padilla. “Across the state, young people aren’t just pre-registering, they are also signing up to be poll workers, hosting mock elections on their school campuses, and volunteering on campaigns. These young people represent the next generation of active, informed, and engaged voters.”
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Secretary Padilla Holds Cybersecurity Press Briefing Ahead of the November 6, 2018 General Election
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Secretary of State Alex Padilla was joined by federal and state law enforcement officials to discuss California’s election cybersecurity initiatives ahead of the November 6, General Election. Representatives from the Department of Homeland Security, the FBI, and the California Highway Patrol (CHP) were in attendance.
California has scaled up it's cybersecurity efforts since 2016.
The legislature and governor approved $134 million to invest in new voting equipment and $3 million to establish the Office of Election Cybersecurity and Enterprise Risk Management.
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Secretary of State Alex Padilla Kicks Off First Ever Statewide University and College Ballot Bowl
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Secretary of State Alex Padilla kicked off the Statewide University and College Ballot Bowl with a press conference at UCLA.
The Ballot Bowl aims to increase civic engagement and voter participation among California students in higher education.
“California is home to many great college rivalries, and our students love a good competition—that’s why we are launching the Ballot Bowl,” Secretary of State Alex Padilla said. “As students return to campus for the start of a new academic year, we want to harness school spirit to improve student voter registration. Young people could be the largest bloc of voters in the nation—but they have to register first. By engaging campuses across California and across academic systems, we have a unique opportunity to reach students statewide.”
Developed by the
California Students Vote Project, t
he Ballot Bowl is a competition between the higher learning institutions of California, public and private, that will run through the October 22 statewide voter registration deadline. Schools must register their campus with the Secretary of State’s office in order to participate and have students register to vote through a unique online URL. The unique URL allows students and alumni to select their college or university when they update their registration or register for the first time. The Secretary of State’s office has launched a
Ballot Bowl website
with a toolkit for students who want to hold campus registration drives.
Notable Coverage:
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Secretary Padilla Launches "Restore Your Vote" Tool to help Californians with Criminal Convictions Know their Voting Rights
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California Secretary of State Alex Padilla launched a new tool to help Californians with criminal convictions know their voting rights. The new tool is available online at
RestoreYourVote.sos.ca.gov,
where
Californians can answer yes or no to the following series of statements to determine whether they can register to vote:
- I am a United States citizen and a resident of California.
- I will be 18 years old or older on election day.
- I am currently in state or federal prison or on parole for the conviction of a felony.
- I have been found mentally incompetent to vote by a court.
“I want all Californians to know their voting rights,” Secretary of State Alex Padilla said. “Even if you have a prior criminal conviction, you may still have the right to vote. Civic engagement can be a critical piece in reintegrating formerly incarcerated Californians into their communities and reducing recidivism.”
Eligible Californians who have been convicted of a felony can still register and vote, as long as they are not in prison or on parole. Californians subject to post-release community supervision or mandatory supervision under Realignment are also eligible to register to vote.
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Secretary Padilla Encourages Young Students to Register and Vote During High School Voter Education Weeks
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As a part of High School Voter Education Weeks (September 17-28), California Secretary of State Alex Padilla visited schools throughout the state, discussing the importance of voting and the role young people can play in shaping the future through civic participation.
Earlier this year, Secretary Padilla launched a High School Civic Engagement Portal,
HighSchool.sos.ca.gov
. High school students can learn more about pre-registration, find out how to be a student poll worker, get resources to host a Student Mock Election on their campus, and learn how to organize voter registration drives on their campuses during High School Voter Education Weeks.
The California Education Code designates the last two full weeks in April and September to be High School Voter Education Weeks. This provides an opportunity for high schools and their students to partner with elections officials to promote civic education and participation on campus and foster an environment that cultivates lifelong voters and active citizens.
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Secretary of State's Eureka Chatbot Awarded Best of California Award by the Center for Digital Media
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The Center for Digital Government presented the California Secretary of State with the Best of California Award for its Business Programs Division’s Eureka Chatbot. Awarded for Best Application Serving the Public, the Eureka Chatbot, developed in partnership with Microsoft, answers frequently asked business entity and trademark questions, helping to better serve approximately 400,000 customers who contacted the agency last year. The California Secretary of State is the first state-level Department or Agency to use Microsoft’s Artificial Intelligence and bot services to modernize and create efficiencies when providing services to customers.
“We are proud that our Eureka Chatbot was recognized by the Center for Digital Government for making it easier to do business in California,” said Secretary of State Alex Padilla. “Californians can get answers to their business related questions instantly using Eureka’s artificial intelligence. This is another example of what is possible when innovation and public private partnerships meet. I congratulate our Business Program and IT divisions for their work bringing this project to fruition.”
The Eureka chatbot assistant is part of Secretary of State Padilla’s Digital Initiative to modernize and digitize the agency’s divisions, including the Business Programs Division. The Digital Initiative includes an online LLC and Corporation Statement of Information filing tool, an online LLC Formation filing option, an online trademark and service mark filing tool, 11 million searchable business records through California Business Search, an updated search engine for the state’s successor-in-interest claims, and a Starting a New Business resource page. All of these tools can be easily found at
bizfile.sos.ca.gov
.
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California Student Mock Election Results
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On October 9th, students throughout the state participated in the
Student Mock Election
. This mock election gave students of all ages the opportunity to participate in the democratic process, with students "voting" on the offices of Governor and United States Senator, as well as the 11 statewide measures that will be on the November 2018 General Election ballot. The Secretary of State's office provided schools with mock election ballots, voter information guides, and posters to promote voting.
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Governor Brown Signs Bill Allowing County Elections Officials to Conduct Post-Election Risk-limiting Audits Starting in 2020
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Earlier this month, Governor Brown signed into law AB 2125, paving the way for California county elections officials to conduct post-election risk-limiting audits in future elections.The new law was authored by
Assemblymember Bill Quirk (D-Hayward) and sponsored by California Secretary of State Alex Padilla.
“Post-election risk-limiting audits are a major step towards increasing the transparency and ensuring the integrity of elections in California,” said Secretary of State Alex Padilla. "By signing this measure, Governor Brown has made it easier for county elections officials to adopt post-election risk-limiting audits, helping keep California at the forefront of election security.”
Each county is required by law to perform a post-election audit to confirm the accuracy and integrity of the results. For years, state law has specified a post-election audit consisting of a manual tally of one-percent of the precincts. The manual tally results must match the machine tally results. Risk-limiting audits provide a more robust methodology of ballot review resulting in a greater level of confidence in the accuracy and integrity of the results. AB 2125 further specifies that the audit be of paper ballots.
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