San Luis Obispo County Clerk-Recorder Elaina Cano says she has concerns about a proposed executive order from President Donald Trump that aims to place new restrictions on mail-in voting.
Proposed in March, the order calls for the creation of new federal voter and mail-in ballot lists and would require the U.S. Postal Service to verify voters are on those lists before delivering their ballots.
Cano said the order could create widespread problems.
“It would cause mass confusion for everybody,” Cano said.
The order is currently tied up in court and, as of Monday, does not appear likely to take effect before the Nov. 3 election, which is now less than 10 weeks away.
“As of right now, nothing is going to change,” Cano said.
San Luis Obispo County Republican Party Chairman Randall Jordan supports the order, calling it a matter of election security.
“I think it’s long overdue,” Jordan said, “and it goes back to same-day voting, counting the ballots the same day, and finding out the winner in one day, and not in 45 days,” Jordan said.
Ed Cabrera, voter service chair for the San Luis Obispo County League of Women Voters, argues the order could create unnecessary barriers for voters.
“We will advocate strongly against any legislation, any policy that will make voting less convenient, and that’s what it seems like this is going to do,” Cabrera said.
Even with the executive order on hold, Cano is encouraging voters to be proactive. In the June primary, approximately 3,000 vote-by-mail ballots went uncounted because of postal service delays.
“There are opportunities for [voters] to be very proactive in getting [ballots] to us themselves, instead of relying on the postal service,” Cano said.
Those options include dropping off ballots at the clerk-recorder’s office or at any of the 18 ballot drop boxes located across the county before Election Day. On Election Day, voters can also bring their ballots to polling places or vote in person at the polls.
Vote-by-mail ballots will begin arriving in voters’ mailboxes on Oct. 5.