- Elizabeth Larson
- Posted On
Governor’s executive order extends official canvass, expands voting options; Lake County canvass set to be done by regular deadline
On Friday, Gov. Gavin Newsom issued Executive Order N-34-20, which extends the deadlines for ballot counting, tabulation and other responsibilities related to the official canvass of California’s Presidential Primary Election that could risk undermining social distancing measures for COVID-19.
The statutory deadline is April 3; under the executive order, elections offices have until April 24 to complete the official canvass.
The order also permits vote-by-mail procedures to be used in three upcoming special elections, measures meant to protect public health and safety during the COVID-19 outbreak.
Those special elections are for a recall in the city of Westminster in Orange County on April 7, and for a state Senate seat in Riverside County and a US House of Representatives seat for the 25th Congressional District, which covers portions of the counties of Ventura and Los Angeles, both of which will be held on May 12.
The governor’s order also suspends the timeframes for public hearings required by political subdivisions that are in the process of changing from an at-large method of election to district elections.
In Lake County, interim Registrar of Voters Diane Fridley – who headed the elections office before her December 2018 retirement – told Lake County News on Saturday that she is moving forward with finishing the official canvass within the normal statutory timeframe.
She said that, unless there are unforeseen circumstances that delay her certification, she expects to be done by March 31.
That’s also her last day as interim registrar of voters. Her former deputy registrar, Maria Valadez, is set to leave her job in Mendocino County to step into the Lake County registrar’s job on April 1.
In the meantime, Fridley is reminding vote-by-mail voters who received a “signature verification statement” or an “unsigned ballot envelope statement” that the deadline for the Lake County Registrar of Voters office to receive the completed forms either by mail service, fax, email or in person – by appointment only – is Friday, March 27.
Fridley said the Registrar of Voters Office cannot count a voter’s vote-by-mail ballot if the completed and signed statement is not returned by that date.
For more information, call the Lake County Registrar of Voters Office at 707-263-2372 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
032020 California Governor's Executive Order N-34-20-COVID-19-Elections by LakeCoNews on Scribd