Californians’ handwriting is getting worse and it’s causing increasing problems for election officials.
More than 14,000 mail ballots were rejected in the March 3 primary because the signature on the vote-by-mail envelope didn’t match the one on the voter registration card. Thousands more were counted only after voters were required to provide a new signature for scrutiny.
For voters in their 60s, the signature they put on that ballot envelope might be compared to the one they signed when they registered to vote at age 18. For younger voters, that comparison could be with an electronic signature they never really use, having replaced it in day-to-day transactions with a squiggle on a touch pad or just the tap of a phone or an Apple watch.