ABSENTEE BALLOT USAGE IN CALIFORNIA ELECTIONS SINCE 1962
PRIMARY ELECTION GENERAL ELECTION
YEAR NUMBER OF BALLOTS CAST % NUMBER OF BALLOTS CAST %
1962 Not available 156,167 of 5,929,602 2.6
1964 Not available 304,858 of 7,233,067 4.2
1966 95,993 of 5,079,911 1.9% 218,242 of 6,505,866 3.3
1968 144,484 of 5,723,047 2.5 334,365 of 7,363,711 4.5
1970 100,455 of 5,011,908 2.0 204,143 of 6,633,400 3.0
1972 204,216 of 6,460,220 3.2 405,668 of 8,595,950 4.7
1973 Not applicable 97,970 of 4,329,179 2.3
1974 159,831 of 5,128,375 3.1 216,618 of 6,364,597 3.4
1976 Not available 366,535 of 8,137,202 4.5
1978 325,518 of 6,843,001 4.7 314,258 of 7,132,210 4.4
1980 343,875 of 6,774,184 5.0 549,007 of 8,775,459 6.2
1982 326,213 of 5,846,026 5.6 525,186 of 8,064,314 6.5
1984 418,109 of 5,609,063 7.5 913,574 of 9,796,375 9.3
1986 426,133 of 4,937,936 8.6 685,340 of 7,617,142 9.0
1988 572,057 of 6,037,468 9.48 1,434,853 of 10,194,539 14.1
1990 808,837 of 5,386,545 15.02 1,452,139 of 7,899,131 18.38
1992 1,073,067 of 6,439,629 16.66 1,950,562 of 11,374,565 17.15
1993 Not applicable 1,156,214 of 5,282,443 21.89
1994 1,011,563 of 4,966,827 20.37 2,009,586 of 8,900,632 22.05
Note: In 1978 the laws governing absentee voting were changed to allow the mail ballot to be used by any eligible voter without regard to meeting certain criteria, such as being away on business on election day, expecting to be hospitalized on election day, election day conflicting with a religious holiday, and similar criteria which had been required to permit voting by absentee ballot.