Voters have options in California. Make sure you exercise them.

Erik Chalhoub here, still with an unfilled ballot on my desk. I suspect I’m among the majority of voters who take their time to fill out the ballots that they have had in their possession since Oct. 5 at the earliest.

The importance of voting cannot be understated. Voting early is also important.

That is the message from state and local elections officials, who hosted a virtual meeting with members of the media on Tuesday, Oct. 13.

Secretary of State Shirley Weber said voting early—by dropping ballots off in a dropbox or mailbox, or by visiting an early voting center—ensures that the ballots are on time and counted, while helping move the counting process along.

California Chief of Elections Jana Lean said if voters choose to mail their ballots, they should do so at least seven days before election day. Ballots must be postmarked on or before Nov. 3 to count, and officials advised that the postmark is not always applied on the day ballots are mailed—sometimes it could take a day or two later.

The last day to register to vote in the Nov. 3 election is Oct. 19, although conditional registration is available up to the day of the election. Those unsure of their registration status can check online.

With the Trump administration questioning the integrity of elections while deploying ICE agents in what is viewed as an attempt to intimidate voters from showing up at the polls, Weber said California’s election process remains steady. There has always been an effort to make the polls secure, she said, as well as training poll workers and informing law enforcement on their duties and responsibilities.

“We’ve probably taken every precaution possible to make sure ballots will be received and the process is safe,” Weber said.

Still, if voters are nervous about visiting a polling center, they have plenty of other options, thanks to the “beauty of California in terms of its vote-by-mail system,” Weber said.

She also invites everyone to observe the counting process (as does Monterey County Registrar of Voters Gina Martinez). But fair warning: It’s not very exciting. Yet, that’s how it should be.

“It gives you a real sense of how orderly it is, and how our folks are prepared and doing the work,” she said.