County elections process enters a new age

The June election will mark the first one conducted under the Voter’s Choice Act, which ushers in increased opportunities for voters to cast their ballots, bolsters the resources available to voters with disabilities and leverages technology to ensure a voter’s ballot is available at multiple locations, said Mark Church, San Mateo County’s chief elections officer.

“The Voter’s Choice Act increases voters’ opportunities, expands early voting and makes voting easy and convenient,” he said.

Instead of reminding themselves to request a vote-by-mail ballot or squeezing in a trip to their designated polling place on Election Day, county voters will have the opportunity to mail in ballots mailed to them with postage-paid return envelopes or visit one of the four vote centers opened this week in South San Francisco, San Mateo, Redwood City and East Palo Alto.

With another 35 vote centers to open across the county between May 26 and Election Day, voters will not only be able to cast their vote at their convenience but they will also benefit from new technology allowing elections officials to print the ballot for their precinct at any of the 39 centers that will eventually be open before June 5. Church said each center’s access to a county database will allow officials to call ballots up when a voter arrives and either print or allow them to fill it out on an electronic voting machine.

“That’s a significant increase in early voting opportunities that we have for the voters here in San Mateo County,” he said.

Also new in this election is voters’ ability to conditionally register to vote at centers after the registration deadline passes, said Church. Those who register to vote at centers will have the option of casting a ballot, which will be counted if their eligibility is later verified. Church added those with disabilities will also have increased opportunities to cast their votes, adding those with visual impairment may download a ballot, mark their votes on a screen-readable format on their personal computers and send them by mail.

But the changes don’t come without challenges, said Church, who noted his office has been working to find vote center locations close to public transportation and accessible to minority and low-income communities and at venues that could be available for voting in the days leading up to the election for the past year to pull off the changes.

“There are a number of logistical challenges in satisfying the criteria set forth in the statute relative to the location of these centers and the negotiation of the leases for an extended period of time,” he said.

Ensuring the centers are staffed with employees trained on the new procedures and technology is another challenge, said Church. He said his office is mailing the vote-by-mail ballots in Chinese, English and Spanish so all voters should have them by next week, adding that they can use a tool on the Elections Office’s website to track and confirm the status of their ballots.

Though Church acknowledged the election also signals shifts to the security measures used as well, he said officials are following best practices, including using a closed, encrypted system not connected to internet, to ensure all votes are cast securely.

“Voters can vote with a sense of confidence knowing their votes are processed accurately and securely here in San Mateo County,” he said.

Vote centers are now open in four locations throughout the county. A South San Francisco location is open at the South San Francisco Public Library, 840 W. Orange Ave. A San Mateo location is open at the Registration and Elections Division Office, 40 Tower Road. A Redwood City location is open on the first floor of the Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder Office, 555 County Center. An East Palo Alto location is open at the Lewis and Joan Platt East Palo Alto Family YMCA, City Room, 555 Bell St. Additional locations will open May 26 and June 2. Visit smcacre.org or call a toll-free hotline at (888) 872-8683 for center hours and more information.

anna@smdailyjournal.com

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