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Viral Misinformation

No, the Hole in Your California Ballot Envelope Isn't How They're Rigging the Election

A viral claim that holes punched in mail-ballot return envelopes let officials see your vote is making its third circuit since 2021 — officials in four counties say it's an accessibility feature, not a security hole.

FALSE ✕

FILED NOV 2, 2026 · UPDATED NOV 2, 2026 · 4 SOURCES

The Claim

As the 2026 midterms approached, a viral X post resurfaced a years-old claim: a punched hole near the signature line on California mail-ballot return envelopes supposedly lets election workers — or anyone holding the envelope up to light — see how a voter marked their ballot. In Ventura County, the post used video of a bubble visible through the hole to argue "California is rigging elections" [1].

This is at least the third time the identical claim has gone viral in five years. It first spread during the 2021 recall election of Gov. Gavin Newsom, resurfaced before the Nov. 4, 2025 special election on Proposition 50 — the redistricting measure Republicans feared would cost them congressional seats — and is now circulating again heading into the 2026 midterms [2][4].

The Evidence

Ventura County Clerk-Recorder spokesperson Simone Seydoux said directly: "The holes are NOT positioned in order to see the vote on a particular contest" [1]. The county's two overlapping holes sit near the signature line, let workers confirm an envelope is empty after the ballot is removed, and are used to zip-tie stacks of processed envelopes [1][2].

The design isn't unique to Ventura. Los Angeles and Riverside counties use near-identical three-hole envelopes, recommended by the nonprofit Center for Civic Design specifically so sight-impaired voters can locate the signature line by touch [2]. Riverside's public information officer, Elizabeth Florer, said the county tried to recreate the "vote visible through the hole" complaint and couldn't: "Through several attempts, we have not been able to replicate these recent complaints" [2].

Not every county even uses holes. Orange County's envelopes have none, and its registrar said the decision was about printing equipment, not security — the holes "did not work well in the mail inserting equipment we use" [2].

California Secretary of State Shirley Weber addressed the claim directly in an Oct. 13, 2025 press release: "The small holes on ballot envelopes are an accessibility feature," adding that any voter worried about visibility can insert their ballot card folded so the marked side faces inward [3]. Her office does not design or approve county envelopes and defers to the Center for Civic Design's guidance [3][2].

Who's Spreading It

The claim's current run traces back to the same conspiracy that circulated during the 2021 Newsom recall, when it was amplified by the account Libs of TikTok and the network Wall Street Apes — amplification significant enough that Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton publicly called for suspending that election over it [2].

It returned ahead of the Nov. 2025 Proposition 50 special election, where Republicans pointed to the same envelope-hole footage to allege Democrats were engineering the redistricting vote; the Washington Examiner reported Weber spent a day personally refuting the claims [4]. Even then, Los Angeles County's Republican Party chair, Roxanne Beckford Hoge, urged supporters not to panic, saying the concern was "easily addressed by turning their ballot around" [2].

The same video and argument are now being recirculated as 2026 midterm "evidence," per the NBC fact-check — a conspiracy theory that resets to zero every election cycle regardless of how many times county and state officials have answered it [1][2][3].

The Verdict

FALSE. Four counties' election officials, the nonprofit that designed the envelope standard, and California's Secretary of State all agree the holes are an accessibility feature, not a way to read votes [1][2][3]. Riverside County tried and failed to reproduce the "visible vote" effect the viral clips claim to show [2], and any voter uneasy about it can simply fold their ballot card so marks face inward before inserting it [3].

The claim isn't new evidence of anything — it's the same unsubstantiated theory that's been debunked in 2021, 2025 and now again in 2026 [1][2][4].

SOURCES · 4

  1. [1]NBC Los Angeles - Decision 2026: Fact-checking misinformation about voting

    72/100 · nbclosangeles.com

  2. [2]LAist/KVPR - No, the holes in your mail-in ballot are not for showing how you voted. Here's what they're actually for

    72/100 · kvpr.org

  3. [3]California Secretary of State - Secretary Shirley N. Weber, Ph.D. Sets the Record Straight Regarding November 4, 2025 Statewide Special Election Ballot

    96/100 · sos.ca.gov

  4. [4]Washington Examiner - California officials address growing conspiracy theories tied to Proposition 50 ballots

    72/100 · washingtonexaminer.com

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