The primary election is one week away, and most Santa Barbara County voters have not yet cast their ballots.
Elections Office staff mailed out about 250,000 ballots to registered voters in early May, and as of midday Tuesday, just a little more than 35,000 have been returned, said Martin Cobos, chief deputy registrar of voters.
He encouraged residents to vote early, and recommended mailing ballots at least five days prior to Election Day (Thursday) or dropping them off to ensure it arrives in time to be counted.
“If a voter chooses to vote at the polls, please be prepared to wait in a line, this ballot has quite a high number of candidates,” he said.
The California governor’s race alone has 61 candidates, with dozens more people running for federal, state and county offices.
Learn more about local candidates and issues on the Tuesday, June 2, ballot in Noozhawk’s Elections section.
Read the Noozhawk Voter Guide here.
Voters can return vote-by-mail ballots by mail, place them in an official drop box, return them to a polling place, or take them to one of the Elections Office locations during office hours, until 8 p.m. on June 2.
There are 61 polling places and 18 drop box locations around the county, from Santa Maria to Carpinteria.
Find a ballot drop box near you.
The list of polling place locations is available in English and en Español.
The Santa Barbara elections office is at 4440-A Calle Real. The Santa Maria elections office is at 511 Lakeside Parkway, Suite 134.
How to Avoid a Late, Rejected Mailed Ballot
The Santa Barbara County Elections Office rejected 14 times as many late ballots in the November 2025 election compared to the November 2024 election: 2,647 ballots compared to 179.
The large increase is partially attributed to changes at the U.S. Postal Service, which collects mail dropped off at post offices and mail collection boxes the next day, not the same day, for communities more than 50 miles from a regional hub.
The rate of rejected ballots was higher for communities farther away from large USPS processing centers – like Santa Barbara County.
“The USPS has changed the way they process mail, as a result we recommend mailing your ballot at least five days prior to Election Day,” Cobos said.
Mailed ballots must be postmarked on or before June 2 and received by county elections officials by June 9 to be counted.
Elections officials suggest people mail their ballot at least five days before the election (Thursday), or take their ballot into a post office and ask a clerk to postmark it.
Voters can also return their vote-by-mail ballots to an Elections Office, polling place or ballot drop box.
Voter Information
Get more voter information from the Santa Barbara County Elections Office
Contact the Elections Office to request a replacement ballot.
Check your voter registration status here.
Register to vote or update your registration in person with California’s same-day voter registration process.
Track your ballot to see when it is received by the County Elections Office and counted.
Have questions about the election? Email us at news@noozhawk.com.