RECALL Q

If I make a mistake on one part of my ballot, will my whole ballot be discarded?

No. Election officials will count all valid responses in their final tallies. So, for example, if a voter accidentally votes for two candidates from the list of possible successors to Gov. Gray Davis, a valid vote on the first question -- whether to recall Davis -- still will be counted.

In some cases, a questionable vote may be reviewed by hand and counted even if it cannot be read by a machine -- for example, if a voter crosses out one selection and marks a second choice.

Still, voters are encouraged to ask poll workers for a new ballot rather than submit partly spoiled ones. Absentee voters can get new ballots by calling their county registrar’s office.

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Allison Hoffman

Submit questions on the recall process to “Recall Q&A;” at: [email protected]. Past questions and answers can be found on the Web at www.latimes.com/faq.