Protect Your Vote: A Checklist for Butte County Voters

Election protection isn't a single day of work. It's a handful of small things done early, so they're not a scramble later. Here's what to do, in order.

1. Check your registration

Confirm you're registered at your current address:

My Voter Status, California Secretary of State

 Do this even if you've voted at the same address for years because registration errors happen at the data level, not because of something you did. Set a recurring reminder to check again every few months through November.

2. Confirm your ID and documents are in order

California doesn't require ID to vote in most cases, but many downstream processes do, like address changes, provisional ballots, and name changes. 

If you've changed your name for marriage or any other reason, locate or request a certified copy of your birth certificate and, if you have one, your passport, now rather than in October.

3. Know who runs your election

Butte County elections are administered by the Butte County Clerk-Recorder Keaton Denlay / Registrar of Voters, 155 Nelson Ave., Oroville, (530) 552-3400. You can find more information at the county website: https://buttevotes.ca.gov/

Knowing who's responsible and how to reach them is the first step if something looks wrong.

4. Build a call list

Write down the names of a few people you'd contact if you needed help fast: a carpool to vote in person, a family night to discuss the ballot, a reminder of friends who might need help to double-check their registration, a neighbor who could join a phone bank, someone who'd want to know if a local polling place changed. Make this list before you need it.

5. Find local volunteer opportunities

Search by zip code at Ground Control for election protection efforts near you.

6. Vote early if you can

Early and mail voting is an important regular practice and proven secure. Dropping your ballot into an election box where it will be picked up the same day and delivered to the election office is also a good idea. 

A high early turnout makes results harder to dispute. 

Track your ballot at Where's My Ballot? by the California Secretary of State.

If something goes wrong

If you see evidence of voter intimidation, a locked or moved polling place, or any interference with election administration, document what you can (photos, times, names) and report it:

• Election Protection Hotline: 866-687-8683

• Butte County Clerk-Recorder Kenton Denlay: contact info (530) 552-3400.

80 million people chose NOT to vote in the 2020 Presidential Election. About 77 million people voted for Trump. About 75 million people voted for Harris. The individual numbers, one by one, add up to something much stronger. Anyone who tells you that your vote is meaningless is participating in a psyop to depress the vote.

Your vote matters! Your family, friends, and neighbors' votes matter. Do not allow yourself to be silenced by not voting in November.