The November general election is three weeks away, and ballots have already been mailed to registered voters in Santa Barbara County.
To research candidates and propositions, and to make sure your ballot is returned on time to be counted, here are answers to some common election season questions.
Visit the Noozhawk Voter Guide for dozens of stories on city council elections, school board races and local ballot measures.
Need More Info on Candidates and Propositions?
- Noozhawk Voter Guide and Election Report newsletter
- California Voter Guide from the Secretary of State’s Office
- CalMatters Voter Guide for state races and propositions
- EdSource Voter Guide
How Do I Cast My Ballot On Time?
This year’s election will be held Tuesday, Nov. 3, and polls will be open that day from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Santa Barbara County has 18 drop boxes where voters can return their ballots. Voters can find their nearest location through the county website or look on the county’s interactive map.
Ballots can also be returned in person to the elections office in Santa Barbara or Santa Maria during normal office hours, or to a polling place before the polls officially close at 8 p.m.
The Santa Barbara office is located at 4440-A Calle Real, and the Santa Maria office is located at 511 Lakeside Pkwy., Suite 134.
Santa Barbara County Elections can be reached at sbcvote.com or by calling 800.722.8683.
Putting a vote-by-mail ballot in the mail? Keep in mind that for the ballot to be counted, it must be postmarked on or before Nov. 3 and received by Nov. 10.
Election officials recommend that voters using mail-in ballots submit their ballots five days before the election to ensure that their ballot is received in time.
Martin Cobos, the county’s chief deputy registrar of voters, said in September that the Elections Office has seen more people waiting until the last minute in recent years.
Cobos said the high number of late ballots slows down the election process and causes the results to be received later. The county also has seen an increase in ballots that had too-late postmarks and were rejected.
Noozhawk reported that the county rejected 2,600 late ballots in November 2025. That is 14 times as many late and uncounted ballots as the previous election. Another 2,300 late ballots were rejected in June’s election, including ones that were mailed on Election Day. The U.S. Postal Service does not guarantee same-day pickup and processing for Santa Barbara County.
“The sooner you get your ballot into the elections division, the sooner we can process it,” Cobos told Noozhawk in September.
Returned ballots should be sealed and signed with the signature matching the voter’s California driver’s license or ID card.
Can I Get a Replacement Ballot?
In case residents make a mistake on their ballot, they can request a replacement from the county.
If the error is minor, such as choosing the wrong choice, the voter can place an “X” through the mismarked oval. They must then write “yes” next to the correct choice.
Election officials ask voters not to sign their initials or name next to the corrected choice.
If a voter needs an entirely new ballot, they can bring their spoiled or damaged ballot to an elections office on or before Election Day or to their polling place on Election Day to obtain a new ballot.
If a resident cannot visit those locations in person, they can also request a replacement ballot be sent to them by calling 800.SBC.VOTE or 800.722.8683.
The list of polling place locations is available in English and Spanish.
Where’s My Polling Place?
Each voter’s polling location is printed on the County Voter Information Guide that came in the mail.
In case a resident loses the guide, they can look up their polling place on the county website.
Can I Register to Vote on Election Day?
In California, residents can register to vote at any time, but the deadline to vote in an upcoming election is 15 days before Election Day.
If residents missed the voter registration deadline, they could still vote on Election Day by registering conditionally at the county elections office, vote center or polling place.
How Do I Know Whether My Ballot Was Received and Counted?
The Secretary of State’s BallotTrax system offers a way for voters to track a ballot and to see whether it was received and counted by the Elections Office.
When Will Election Results Be Known?
Initial results are expected shortly after polls close at 8 p.m. on Nov. 3.
The results from vote-by-mail ballots that have already been processed and prepared for counting will be released at approximately 8:15 p.m., according to the county.
First results from polling places are expected around 9 p.m. and will be posted on the County Elections Office page.
Noozhawk will have live updates on local races throughout election night.
To see articles on different races and candidate profiles, visit Noozhawk’s voter guide. The guide will be updated with new articles leading up to the election.
