As Californians prepare to vote on Proposition 50 in Tuesday’s special election, election officials say the public is welcome, and even encouraged, to observe the process up close.

Election observation, sometimes called poll watching, has existed in California for decades as a way to promote transparency and public confidence. Observers can watch nearly every step of an election, from the sorting and counting of vote-by-mail ballots to the certification of results.

“You can come in and see how we handle ballots, how we verify signatures, how we secure everything,” said Placer County Clerk-Recorder-Registrar of Voters Ryan Ronco. “The value of that is almost priceless, because if we have a system of elections that cannot be trusted, then what are we doing?”

Placer County even parts of th

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