Is a punch hole in a California ballot envelope proof of election rigging in the 2026 election? No, that's not true: There is no evidence that elections in California can be rigged based on just the existence of a punch hole on a ballot envelope. The punch holes serve a dual purpose. The Ventura County Clerk-Recorder & Registrar of Voters office says the punch hole "helps election workers to confirm no ballot has been left behind in the envelope during processing - that the envelope is empty." The California Secretary of State's office said the holes are to help "sight-impaired voters to orient themselves to where they are required to sign the envelope." Election expert David Becker told Lead Stories that the election officials in the state and county are "100% right," about the punch holes in the envelopes in California.
The claim appeared in a video (archvied here) by the @M.A.Rothman acount on X on Oct. 25, 2026. It read:
๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐'๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ -- ๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐
This is what a screenshot of the video in the post looked like at the time of writing:
(Image source: post by @A.M.Rothman on X.)
This is a full transcript of what the person in the video said:
I want to show you guys something here. This is really important, ok? On the front of this envelope where you place the stamp there is a little hole right here. Alright. I'm gonna put the ballot up right next to the hole ok? And I'm gonna drop it in. But you'll see, if you put this in the right way or shall I say the wrong way, really, you're gonna get Xavier Becerra in that hole. Watch this. Now, take a look at that. What do you see? That is Xavier Becerra's circle inside the circle. So, again be very careful how you place your ballot in your California envelope.
This is what the video looked like:
๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐'๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ -- ๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ A new viral demonstration shows exactly how it works: California's vote-by-mail return envelope has a small cutout where voters sign. Fold the ballot the way the envelope invites you to, and that cutout can land directly over a filled-in oval -- in this demo, a mark for gubernatorial candidate ๐๐๐ฏ๐ข๐๐ซ ๐๐๐๐๐ซ๐ซ๐. "๐๐ฐ ๐ข๐จ๐ข๐ช๐ฏ, ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ๐บ ๐ค๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ๐ง๐ถ๐ญ ๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ธ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ข๐ค๐ฆ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐ฃ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ช๐ฏ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐๐ข๐ญ๐ช๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฏ๐ช๐ข ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ท๐ฆ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ฆ," the voter warns in the clip, after holding the folded ballot up to the hole and showing the exposed circle. This isn't a new complaint -- it's a complaint California keeps having to answer. The same hole sparked outrage during the ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ฐ๐ฌ๐จ๐ฆ ๐ซ๐๐๐๐ฅ๐ฅ, when critics noted the design could reveal "๐บ๐ฆ๐ด" votes before an envelope was even opened. It surfaced again during 2025's Prop 50 special election, when the Secretary of State's office told worried voters they could fold their ballots differently -- or just vote in person. The state's standing answer hasn't changed either: officials call the hole an ๐๐๐๐๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ข๐๐ข๐ฅ๐ข๐ญ๐ฒ ๐๐๐๐ญ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ for sight-impaired voters, and say the odds of any single mark lining up with it are low. Maybe so. But a design flaw that keeps requiring the same reassurance, election after election, isn't exactly confidence-inspiring -- especially heading into a razor-close Becerra-vs-Hilton governor's race. ๐๐๐ฆ๐ ๐ก๐จ๐ฅ๐, ๐ฌ๐๐ฆ๐ ๐๐ฑ๐๐ฎ๐ฌ๐, ๐๐ฏ๐๐ซ๐ฒ ๐๐ฅ๐๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐ฌ๐ข๐ง๐๐ ๐๐๐๐. Source: @libsoftiktok https://t.co/gYeKm4zrlG
-- M.A. Rothman (@MichaelARothman) October 25, 2026
The video was originally posted by the @themidihead account on Instagram on Oct. 23, 2026. The ballot envelope in the video read "Ventura,CA," as this screenshot from the video shows (red circle added by Lead Stories):
(Image source: post by @themidiheaed on Instagram.)
Clarification from California officials
Lead Stories contacted Michelle Ascencion, the Ventura County Clerk-Recorder & Registrar of Voters, via email on Oct. 26, 2026, about the claims in the video. She explained the function and placement of the punch holes:
1. The hole on the address side (front) of the envelope helps us ensure the ballot has indeed been removed and the envelope is empty.
2. The holes on the signature side (back) of the envelope serve as a guide to assist vision-impaired voters with placing their signature in the box.
3. The holes are NOT positioned in order to see the vote on a particular contest. Ventura County's November 2026 ballot is three, double-sided ballot cards, there is no "standard" way of ordering, folding, or inserting the ballot cards. IF a bubble is showing through the hole it could belong to any of approximately 50 different Federal, State, or Local contests on this ballot, and there are 187 different ballot types - meaning, combinations of contests, depending on where the voter resides - for this election.
Ascension shared diagrams of the envelopes, noting the pink circles with the "plus" symbol indicate where the holes are:
(Image source: Ventura County Clerk-Recorder & Registrar of Voters.)
(Image source: Ventura County Clerk-Recorder & Registrar of Voters.)
The Ventura County Clerk-Recorder & Registrar of Voters Office website (archived here) addresses the punch holes on a FAQ page on the website (archived here):
What is the punch hole on the ballot envelope for?
This is an established feature of an election ballot envelope in many counties. It helps election workers to confirm no ballot has been left behind in the envelope during processing - that the envelope is empty. (In Ventura we also zip-tie envelopes through the hole which works as a final check.)
Lead Stories contacted the California Secretary of State's office who responded via email on Oct. 26, 2026, writing about the punch holes and sharing a press release (archived here) from October 2025 about the envelopes:
The small holes on ballot return envelopes are an accessibility feature to allow sight-impaired voters to orient themselves to where they are required to sign the envelope.
The press release stated a voter could insert the ballot to obscure the circles for the candidates:
There are numerous ways to insert a ballot card into the return envelope. If a voter is concerned, they can insert their ballot in a manner where any markings are obscured.
The Center for Election Innovation and Research
David Becker, executive director of the nonprofit Center for Election Innovation and Research (CEIR) (archived here), reviewed the claim on Oct. 26, 2026, and said:
Elections officials in the state and county are 100% right and any other claim is disinformation.
Other fact checks
Lead Stories previously fact checked a claim about the visibility of completed California Proposition 50 redistricting ballots through Sacramento County's mail-in envelopes. While a voter's selection could be seen through the punch hole if the ballot was folded a certain way, the voter's selection could not be determined.
Similar claims were also investigated by FactCheck.org, and AFP Fact Check.
