AlignAlgo Vote · Explainers · Guide
Guide · California
What happens if you skip a ballot measure?
Nothing bad. In California, leaving a contest blank simply means you didn't vote in that contest — the rest of your ballot still counts.
Skipping is called an "undervote" — and it's allowed
California's uniform vote-counting standards are explicit: "If a contest is marked with fewer choices than there are offices to be filled or measures that may prevail, the vote choice(s) for all otherwise properly marked candidates or measures shall be counted." In plain terms: blank contests are ignored, and everything you did mark counts normally.
What about voting for too many options?
That's an overvote — and it only voids that one contest. "The vote shall not be counted for that contest, but shall be counted in all other contests in which there is no overvote and the voter's choice can be clearly determined."
The takeaway
Never skip voting entirely because a few measures confuse you. Vote the contests you understand, skip the rest — and if you want to understand the rest, that's what the AlignAlgo Vote questionnaire is for.