Employees at the Santa Barbara County Elections Office were bustling Friday, getting last-minute preparations done for the 110,000 blue mail-in ballots that will be sent out Monday so voters will have them later in the week.
The ballots are for the June 3 statewide direct primary election and must be returned to a polling location in the the county by 8 p.m. on Election Day.
The deadline to request a vote by mail ballot be sent to voters is May 27 and the deadline to register to vote to be eligible to vote in the June election is May 19.
Voters will be choosing candidates in races for governor, the Legislature and the House of Representatives; local offices like county supervisor, sheriff and district attorney; and local and statewide ballot measures.
The elections office staff were training on a new ballot sorting system that will greatly reduce processing time, Renee Bischoff, chief deputy registrar of voters, told Noozhawk.
Late last month, voters were mailed sample ballots that detail the races, propositions and measures. Click here for sample ballots and voting precincts by ZIP code and street address.
If they are not mailed back by May 19, Bischoff said the ballots must be taken to a county Elections Office — 4440-A Calle Real, Santa Barbara 93110; 511 E. Lakeside Parkway, Suite 115, Santa Maria 93455-1341; or 401 E. Cypress St., Room 102, Lompoc 93436 — or to a county polling place by 8 p.m. on Election Day, June 3. Click here for a complete list of polling places.
To request a vote-by-mail ballot or to become a permanent vote-by-mail voter, return the application on the back cover of the sample ballot, click here to download an application or call 1.800.722.8683.
Click here to register to vote.
— Noozhawk staff writer Lara Cooper can be reached at lcooper@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
