The Californer - Pat Brown Institute at Cal State LA honors California secretary of state

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LOS ANGELES - Californer -- California Secretary of State Alex Padilla was honored for his years of distinguished public service by the Pat Brown Institute (PBI) for Public Affairs at Cal State LA.

Padilla received the 2020 Pat Brown Legacy Award on Aug. 4 at a webinar during which he discussed his career and his vision for the democratic process as part of a conversation with PBI Executive Director Raphael J. Sonenshein.

Jose A. Gomez, Cal State LA executive vice president and chair of the PBI board, presented the award to Padilla.

"It is an honor to virtually receive this award," Padilla said. "It means a lot to me. This is a big deal. I enjoy public service tremendously and have been at it for a few years. This is affirmation that we are doing some good things along the way to help people. That is what it is all about."

Padilla, who became secretary of state in January 2015 and is in his second term, has been committed to increasing voter registration and participation and strengthening voting rights. The son of Mexican immigrants, he was raised in Pacoima in Los Angeles' San Fernando Valley.

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As secretary of state, Padilla is overseeing his agency's initiative to ensure an accurate count for the 2020 Census. So far, 65% of state households have filled out the census, but Padilla acknowledged that more work needs to be done.

"We are about a percentage point ahead of the national average," he said. "That's not bad news. That's good news. But we are still a far cry from where we were 10 years ago, and 65% of households may count but that means 35% have not."

With the November presidential election approaching, Padilla said Californians should have confidence in the vote-by-mail process due to its transparency and accountability.

"Yes, it's convenient, but it's also secure," said Padilla, noting that a number of security measures have been implemented to prevent against fraud, including signature verification.

He said that voters can sign up for a ballot tracking system called "Where's My Ballot?" on the Secretary of State website (https://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/election-2020/). This system will allow voters to receive emails, text message alerts or automated phone calls about the status of their ballots.