Secretary of State Alex Padilla oversees California’s voting process, and he says people are clearly engaged in this fall’s election. He spoke about the election and what voters can expect on Nov. 3 and after in a “Pacific Talks Politics” Zoom discussion with political science professor Keith Smith and students.

First, Padilla said voting is the bedrock of democracy and it is California’s policy to make it as easy as possible to register and vote. He said issues, ranging from climate change to health care to immigration reform, are fueling record voter registration across the state.

“We recently surpassed 22 million voters on the rolls in California,” he said. “We now have more voters in California than there are people in Florida.”

Padilla said his priorities for administering this general election are safety and security. COVID-19 spurred the state to make it possible for all voters to cast their ballots by mail or drop-off. He also lamented the spread of election disinformation on social media and urged voters to rely on their county election offices or the secretary of state’s office for election information. Voters can also track their ballots on the Where’s My Ballot page on the secretary of state’s website.

Padilla also cautioned everyone to be patient with the vote count and that we may not know the winner of the presidential election or other races on election night.

“If that happens, it's not the time to panic. It's time to be patient. It's the process at work,” he said.

You can watch the entire discussion above (below).