With ballots set to go out to Santa Clara County\u2019s 1 million registered voters in just over a month<\/a>, Registrar of Voters Matt Moreles said the county has no plans to change its voting processes.<\/p>\n \u201cVoting by mail is open and it\u2019s business as usual here in Santa Clara County,\u201d Moreles told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight.<\/p>\n County voters have come to rely on mail-in voting, with more than 90% choosing the method rather than voting in person at a polling place,\u00a0Moreles said.<\/p>\n At the center of the legal fray is a March executive order tasking the Department of Homeland Security with creating a list of eligible voters in each state. The order would block the U.S. Postal Service from sending mail-in ballots to anyone who does not appear on the list.<\/p>\n Trump\u2019s order has faced several lawsuits from Democratic state officials, including California Attorney General Rob Bonta<\/a>, as well as voting rights groups.<\/p>\n The Supreme Court issued a procedural ruling on Aug. 25 that lifted a lower court\u2019s decision blocking the implementation of the order, though the ruling did not weigh in on the underlying merits of the case. Opponents of the order quickly refiled their lawsuits to comply with the high court\u2019s ruling, and two days later, another federal judge once again issued a temporary block.<\/p>\n The Trump administration is appealing the latest ruling, and the legal fight could soon go back before the Supreme Court. Moreles said his office is continuing to monitor the legal proceedings.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is a very complex situation,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Voting rights advocates said they are already seeing warning signs that\u00a0the complexity is leading some voters to unnecessarily doubt that mail-in ballots will be available ahead of Election Day on Nov. 3.<\/p>\n \u201cWe were fielding calls and emails from voters starting before the June primary asking if Trump has taken away mail voting and asking if they were going to get a mail ballot as they usually do,\u201d Brittany Stonesifer, who oversees voting rights programs for good governance group California Common Cause, told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight.<\/p>\n Stonesifer warns that such doubts, coupled with fears over the potential for disruptions on Election Day driven by baseless claims of voter fraud, could depress turnout.<\/p>\n \u201cAnother concern that folks have had is about federal interference at the polls, or even from private overzealous actors interfering with voters at the polls,\u201d she said. \u201cSome voters who are already underrepresented may feel targeted and not want to go to vote in person. But then, if they think that vote-by-mail isn\u2019t an option, they may just sit out and be disenfranchised.\u201d<\/p>\n Administration officials contend the executive order seeks to enact common sense \u201celection integrity measures\u201d aimed at combating voter fraud. Researchers have consistently found<\/a> that such fraud is extremely rare<\/a>.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, opponents have argued the president does not have the authority to interfere with election rules, which are typically set by states. They have also warned that if the order is allowed to proceed before the November midterms, the rush to enact it would create election chaos<\/a>, especially in jurisdictions where mail-in balloting is most common, which typically lean Democratic.<\/p>\n Trump, who last year pledged to \u201clead a movement<\/a> to get rid of mail-in ballots,\u201d has also backed legislation that would require proof of citizenship<\/a> to register to vote.<\/p>\n All registered California voters\u00a0receive a mail-in ballot, a procedure<\/a> that has been in place since the passage of landmark election reforms<\/a>\u00a0in 2016. Nationwide, about one in three voters used mail-in ballots in the 2024 presidential election.<\/p>\n
![\"In-line](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/1788425779_718_interactive-321838904008.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\n