It’s more like “Election Month” in California than “Election Day.” Voting by mail reached nearly 60 percent in June, and county registrars begin mailing out ballots Monday.

If you’re a registered voter, you’ve likely already received the thick chunk of grey recycled paper the size of a phone book known as California’s voter information guide. It’s a record 224 pages, with quick summaries and deeper analyses of the 17 statewide ballot measures.

“For people who may look at 224 pages and think, I have nowhere near the time, that first section is probably the most helpful for most people,” Secretary of State Alex Padilla told Capital Public Radio in an interview that airs on Monday's Insight.

If you’re not a registered voter, the deadline to sign up is Monday, October 24th. Vote-by-mail ballot requests must arrive at your county’s elections office by Tuesday, November 1st – one week before Election Day.

Despite recent efforts from hackers to break into U.S. election systems, Padilla says the machines that scan and count California ballots are secure. 

“Those systems are disconnected from the internet,“ he says. “So it would be very, very difficult – if not impossible – for somebody to systematically hack or rig our elections.”

The Secretary of State's office says it has not detected any breaches or abnormal probes of its systems.