County Registrar Lindsey Dale told the Imperial City Council the County is preparing to transition from a traditional polling‑site model to the Voter’s Choice Act (VCA), a statewide reform that expands vote‑by‑mail, creates permanent ballot drop boxes and allows voters to cast ballots at any vote center in the county.

Dale said the VCA, established by Senate Bill 450 (2016), builds on California’s 2021 changes (AB 37) that already deliver ballots by mail to active registered voters. Under the county’s plan, Imperial would keep an expanded ballot‑drop infrastructure (8 drop boxes already installed) and create multiple vote centers — including three long‑open centers in Brawley, Calexico and El Centro — plus additional short‑window locations countywide. “Every voter will be able to go to any vote center in Imperial County regardless of where they live and vote,” Dale said.

Why it matters: the move is intended to reduce provisional ballots, speed final results and expand in‑person access for seniors, voters with disabilities and shift workers such as firefighters. Dale told council that the county had 5,500 provisional ballots in the last election and that processing provisionals delayed final results by about two and a half weeks. The plan would also let in‑person staff void a voter’s mailed ballot if the voter comes to a vote center without surrendering it, she said.

Key details: Dale said Imperial County has about 93,000 registered voters. State law requires one long‑window vote center (11 days) per roughly 50,000 registered voters; by that measure the county would need two long‑window centers but the county is proposing three because of geographic size. For shorter windows (4 days) the law requires one site per 10,000 voters; Imperial’s draft plan identifies 11 short‑window locations (one more than the required minimum). The county’s draft Election Administration Plan and maps are posted in English and Spanish on the registrar’s website, and a public hearing is scheduled for Sept. 4 at 3 p.m. in the Board of Supervisors chambers, Dale said.

Security and accessibility: all vote centers will be in ADA‑compliant facilities with parking and transit access; voters can use paper ballots or electronic tablets; the county will continue to verify signatures on returned ballots. Dale also promoted an existing accessibility service, remote accessible vote‑by‑mail (RAVBM), stressing: “This is not internet voting.” RAVBM lets eligible voters use their own assistive technology at home to mark and then print a ballot that is mailed and signature‑verified.

Timeline and funding: Dale said the county has received grant funding to buy equipment for VCA implementation and expects vote centers to be in place by June 2026; she emphasized the equipment purchase will not come from the county general fund.

Possible statewide special election: Dale told the council that three pieces of pending state legislation — a proposed constitutional amendment (ACA 8), AB 604 (new maps) and SB 280 (which would authorize a special election and allocate money to counties) — make a special election likely on Nov. 4 if the measures pass. She said the county estimates a special countywide election would cost about $680,000 to administer and that the bill would allow only about 68 days to prepare; printers and vendors are likely to charge premiums for the compressed schedule. “We’re thinking maybe tomorrow or Friday we’ll know,” she said regarding the legislation’s timing.

Discussion and next steps: Dale said the county has completed outreach meetings focused on seniors, voters with disabilities and non‑English speakers, and has been running a traveling workshop series in the county. Following the Sept. 4 public hearing and a second public comment period, the registrar plans to submit the final plan to the California Secretary of State for approval. Council members did not take formal action at the meeting.

Ending: The registrar invited council members to raise questions at upcoming city council meetings and encouraged residents to review the draft plan online and attend the Sept. 4 public hearing.