Gov. Jerry Brown signed a bill Wednesday that requires counties to prepay postage for mail-in ballots in California elections, including for voters in Santa Clarita.

The measure, proposed by Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher, D-San Diego, said it is necessary to remove an obstacle to voting, especially for young people who are less likely to use the postal system and have stamps in the age of emails and text messages.

“Most outlets will only sell stamps in booklets costing (about) $10 and many voters, especially young adults, don’t normally use USPS stamps because they communicate and transact online and only online,” Fletcher said.

After the law goes into effect at the beginning of 2019, voters will be able to send in their ballot, free of charge. The change will impact voters in the Santa Clarita Valley and throughout Los Angeles County.

Related: County Election Officials Say Ballots Still Being Mailed

“Once again, California leads the way to make voting more accessible to all of our citizens,” Fletcher said. “No stamps? No problem!”

State officials say the requirement would have cost county elections agencies some $5.5 million if it had been in place for the 2016 general election, when 8.4 million people voted by mail in California and the average cost of postage was 65 cents per envelope.

“No one should have to pay $1 in order to vote. A poll tax is a poll tax,” Fletcher said.

Ten of California’s 58 counties had already planned to provide free mail-in ballots in the November midterm election.

In 2019, counties will be allowed to file claims with the state seeking reimbursement of postage costs.

KHTS FM 98.1 and AM 1220 is Santa Clarita’s only local radio station. KHTS mixes in a combination of news, traffic, sports, and features along with your favorite adult contemporary hits. Santa Clarita news and features are delivered throughout the day over our airwaves, on our website and through a variety of social media platforms. Our KHTS national award-winning daily news briefs are now read daily by 34,000+ residents. A vibrant member of the Santa Clarita community, the KHTS broadcast signal reaches all of the Santa Clarita Valley and parts of the high desert communities located in the Antelope Valley. The station streams its talk shows over the web, reaching a potentially worldwide audience. Follow @KHTSRadio on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.