In the last moments leading up to Election Day next Tuesday, the San Mateo County Libraries are working to equip residents with as much information and resources as possible, encouraging eligible voters to take advantage of their civic duty.
Providing residents with abundant information is integral to the libraries’ role, Mary Abler, deputy director of Library Services, said. Through programs and outreach are doing “a lot of advocacy around getting out the vote.”
San Mateo County Libraries have partnered with the nonprofit news organization CalMatters to host informational sessions and workshops for residents to hear about ballot measures, learn about the pros and cons of each vote and figure out their own stances.
All library locations have voter guide booklets from the County Election’s Office and printed CalMatters informational guides.
Amid artificial intelligence, and an immense number of news sources, Abler said library staff want to help patrons navigate all the information “that has only become more complicated and difficult to unravel,” and have the tools to understand what they’re being told.
“It’s important for us to help people break it down and simplify things and to help it feel a little bit less daunting,” Abler said. “It can be very hard to navigate our media landscape currently, which is so fraught with formal and informal ways of gathering information.”
Part of alleviating the daunting feeling of tackling the ballot’s many measures and candidates starts with making young people excited about the prospect of participating in the democratic process, Abler said. For youth, the libraries are hosting Vote for Story Time where kids can vote for the theme, stories or props used during story time. At the Millbrae Library, a teen program is also promoting teamwork and the power of making informed decisions as a collective, Abler said.
“That’s just a really basic way to help our kids understand the very basics about democracy, about majority, about casting your vote and how that works,” Abler said. “That’s kind of a fun, easy, accessible thing to help youth understand the value of democracy.”
With a few days left in the election, Abler wants to remind residents that there is still time, and that the San Mateo County Libraries are available to help.
“Being able to vote in our elections is a critical cornerstone of our democracy and it’s important that we educate ourselves about the topics that we are being asked to weigh in on,” Abler said. “There’s still time to take advantage of the resources at the library to learn more about the ballot measures and the candidates that are running to feel confident about their vote.”
Recommended for you
Residents can visit www.smcl.org/vote to look up locations of drop boxes and for other information about voting.
Approximately 443,500 residents in San Mateo County are registered to vote, which is just shy of the record 443,745 total registered voters during the 2020 Presidential General Election.
“The strength of our democracy depends on well informed citizens who exercise their right,” Chief Elections Officer Mark Church said. “Voting in San Mateo County is easy and convenient, so be sure to make your voice heard.”
Voters already registered can vote by mail, in person at a voting center, or drop off their ballots at one of the 63 secure locations throughout the county. If eligible voters missed the Oct. 21 deadline to register, same day registration through a conditional ballot is available in California.
Secure ballot drop boxes are located in or outside of county libraries in Belmont, Brisbane, East Palo Alto, Half Moon Bay, North Fair Oaks, San Carlos and Woodside. In person voting centers are available at county libraries in San Carlos, Belmont and Half Moon Bay.
As of Nov. 2, 46 vote centers will be open throughout the county, and three more will open in East Palo Alto, La Honda and Pescadero on Nov. 4. Vote centers are open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., except on Election Day when they will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
On Election Day, voters are encouraged to use the county’s time widget at smcvote.gov to find vote centers with the shortest lines and wait times.
“We do expect it to be a busy day on Election Day, so vote early if possible,” Church said.
The first semiofficial results report will be available the county’s website at 8:10 p.m. election night. Results from voting centers will be starting at 9 p.m. on election night, with updates provided every half hour until all ballots have been counted. Finalized results will be released only after the 30-day canvass period concludes and results are certified
(1) comment
Asking a librarian, who most likely is biased for help when "navigating" a ballot is probably not a good ideal. Young voters, ask your parents or do some reading on your own
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.