Democratic California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law Monday a bill that orders every county election commission to mail all registered voters in their jurisdiction a ballot during each election, making permanent a mail-in voting system that was created to deal with the coronavirus pandemic, the Sacramento Bee reports.
The bill also maintains a seven-day window after the election day in which mail-in ballots can be received if they’re postmarked by election day. That measure was also put in place to accommodate people impacted by the pandemic during the 2020 election, in which more than 70% of eligible Californians voted.
“As states across our country continue to enact undemocratic voter suppression laws, California is increasing voter access, expanding voting options and bolstering elections integrity and transparency,” Newsom said in a statement. “Last year we took unprecedented steps to ensure all voters had the opportunity to cast a ballot during the pandemic and today we are making those measures permanent after record-breaking participation in the 2020 presidential election.”