FILE PHOTO: California governor Gavin Newsom waits to speak at a news conference in San Diego, California, U.S. October 9, 2019. REUTERS/ Mike Blake/File Photo
(Reuters) – California Governor Gavin Newsom on Friday said he had signed an executive order for all California registered voters to receive a mail-in ballot for the November election.
Newsom, in his daily coronavirus briefing, said the mail-in ballots were no substitute for physical sites to vote at, however, and that the state was also working on setting up safe places for walk-in voters.
California Secretary of State Alex Padilla, who joined Newsom by phone during the briefing, said his state was the first to send every voter a ballot in advance of the election over concerns about the effect of the coronavirus pandemic on in-person voting.
There was no safer way for Californians to vote than by the ballots they would be receiving, which have return postage prepaid on them, Padilla said.
“It’s great for public health, it’s great for voting rights, it’s going to be great for participation because this November’s election is still slated to be the consequential election of our lifetime,” Padilla said.
Reporting By Andrew Hay in Taos, New Mexico, Editing by Sonya Hepinstall