Murrieta Voters: How To Track Your Ballot In 2024

MURRIETA, CA — Many registered Murrieta residents have already returned their votes for the Nov. 5 General Election, but it’s important to know how to track your ballot.

In Riverside County, 289,465 vote-by-mail ballots have been returned and 98% of them were already accepted, according to data posted by California's Secretary of State on Oct. 29.

Counties were required to mail out ballots by Oct. 7 — all active, registered voters are expected to receive a vote-by-mail ballot for the general election.

The Secretary of State is offering a “Where’s My Ballot?” tool called BallotTrax that allows voters to monitor the status of their vote-by-mail ballot. If you’re still waiting on your ballot to arrive in the mail, this tool can also be used to sort out where it may be.

Tracking Your Ballot

Whether you dropped your ballot at a dropbox, through the mail or in-person at a vote center, you’ll be able to see when your ballot is accepted through the state’s tool, which was created in 2020.

Residents can visit this link to access BallotTrax. Then, enter your legal first and last name, date of birth and your current zip code. The site will then prompt you to set up text and email alerts.

Once you’re in, you will be able to see your “current mail ballot status.” Scroll down and you’ll also see your previous mail ballots and whether they were cast in-person.

Ballot Box Collection

According to the California Secretary of State, Shirley Weber, ballots are collected on a regular basis from drop boxes.

• Ballots are picked up from both staffed and unstaffed drop boxes at least every 96 hours, except weekends, between the 29th day before the election and the 10th day before an election.
• Ballots are picked up from staffed drop boxes at least every 72 hours, except weekends, after the 10th day before the election through 8 p.m. on Election Day.
• Ballots are picked up from unstaffed drop boxes every 48 hours, except weekends, hours after the 10th day before an election through through 8 p.m. on Election Day.

When the polls close on Election Day, all drop boxes shall be locked or covered at 8 p.m. and elections officials are expected to retrieve as many ballots as practical before 11:59 p.m.

Riverside County elections officials are required to certify to Weber’s office that all ballots have been retrieved from all staffed and unstaffed drop boxes.

Registering To Vote

The last day to register to vote online was Oct. 21, but you can still take advantage of
same-day voter registration, also known as conditional registration — available for those who miss the deadline to register to vote or update their information before the Nov. 5 election.

Conditional Voter Registration is described as a “safety net” for eligible residents who need to register at the last minute, according to Weber’s office. These ballots are processed and counted once the county election office has completed the process of verifying the registration.

In Murrieta, you can complete the same-day voter registration process at the following locations:

• Avaxat Elementary School, 24300 Las Brisas Rd.
• David L. Long Regional Learning Center, 41350 Guava St.
• Dorothy McElhinney Middle School, 35125 Briggs Rd.
• Sky Canyon-Riverside County Office of Education, 38870 Canyon Dr.
• Murrieta Fire & Rescue Station #4, 28155 Baxter Rd.
• Murrieta Public Library, 8 Town Square
• The Colony of California Oaks, 40710 Avenida Florita
• The Springs Health and Rehabilitation Center, 25924, Jackson Ave.
• Tovashal Elementary School, 23801 Saint Raphael Dr.

If you need to register on Election Day, you can also visit the Riverside Registrar of Voters office at 2720 Gateway Dr.

On Nov. 5, residents will be able to access same-day voter registration and cast their ballots between 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

If you are voting for the first time after registering to vote by mail and you did not provide your driver's license number, California ID number or the last four digits of your social security number on your registration form, you may asked to show a form of ID when you arrive at the polls, according to the Secretary of State’s office.

If this is the case, bring a form of ID with you or include a copy of it with your vote-by-mail ballot.

• READ MORE ELECTION COVERAGE

• Murrieta Election Guide: What’s On The Ballot, What To Know
• 'Election Observer Tours' Get Underway In Riverside County
• Ballot Boxes Open In Murrieta: Find Yours

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Who’s Registered To Vote In Murrieta?

In Murrieta, there were 67,134 total registered voters as of Sept. 6, according to the latest registration report from California’s Secretary of State. Approximately 19,883 were listed as Democrats while 27,806 were registered under the Republican party.

As of Sept. 6, some 22,310,352 Californians had registered to vote. Of those voters, 46% had registered Democrat while almost 25% registered Republican. Another 22% had no party preference and 7% listed “other,” according to the Secretary of State.

The counties with the largest increase in registered voters were Riverside, Orange, San Bernardino, San Diego and Los Angeles counties.