San Mateo County officials, confident with the Election Office’s ability to manage mass mail-in-voting, have been gearing up for a busy election season while launching a new mobile center catering to the needs of rural communities.
As done in past election cycles, the county is offering multiple options for how residents may cast their ballots by Nov. 3, including sending ballots with prepaid postage through the mail, submitting ballots in one of 39 secure drop boxes or voting in person at one of the county’s 45 voting centers. This year, voters may also register to use a remote accessible vote-by-mail system which allows voters to print and mail a ballot from home that has been marked on a screen.
Jim Irizarry, San Mateo County assistant chief elections officer, said San Mateo County residents have “no excuse not to vote,” with so many options being offered, including a new mobile voting center.
Similar to Orange and Los Angeles counties, San Mateo County will be providing a mobile voting center which will move into hard-to-reach communities to provide residents with voter assistance and registration. The center is similar to a temporary construction site office and will be driven into highly visible areas in cities like Pescadero, a town still recovering from recent wildfire activity, said Irizarry.
“Rural communities don’t have the facilities to have vote centers. We feel the mobile vote center will go a long way to provide complete vote center services to our rural communities,” said Irizarry.
The mobile site will begin operating from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. during the early voting period beginning Oct. 5, though a location for the site has not been selected between then and Oct. 9. On Election Day, the center will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
The site will be located at the Serramonte Shopping Center in Daly City from Oct. 10 through Oct. 14, the Half Moon Bay Airport from Oct. 15 to Oct. 19, the Cow Palace Event Center in Daly City on Oct. 20 to Oct. 24, at a location in Pescadero on Oct. 22 to Oct. 20 and the Hillsdale Shopping Center on Oct. 30 to Nov. 3.
The mobile center will also be Americans with Disabilities Act compliant by providing a ramp entrance into the structure, voter accommodations and compliant restrooms. Those who use the facility will be spaced out to allow for social distancing and will be required to wear a mask to respect COVID-19 health guidelines.
“This is a new innovation here in San Mateo County. We’ve never had an actual mobile facility set up as a full fledged vote center,” said Irizarry.
Beginning Monday, Oct. 5, official ballots will be mailed out to all registered voters across the county with three voting centers opening the same day in the South San Francisco main library, the Registration and Elections Division office in San Mateo and the county clerk’s office in Redwood City. The three centers will be open weekdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and all 45 centers will begin operating Oct. 31. Hours on Election Day, Nov. 3, will be extended by five hours, opening at 7 a.m. and closing at 8 p.m.
Due to COVID-19 health guidelines, voting equipment will be spaced out to allow for social distancing. The number of individuals allowed into voting centers at one time will also be limited and ballot marking tools will be single use. Because of the guidelines, Irizarry predicts lines to cast a ballot on Election Day will be even longer than traditionally long lines seen during previous election cycles. Centers will remain open to allow voters in line by 8 p.m. to cast ballots.
“There’s no need to wait in line if you want to go and need to go in person. Go on Saturday, go Sunday which is a low volume day,” said Irizarry. “Vote early and now you can do it with ease and convenience from home.”
Irizarry also shared strong confidence in the ability of the U.S. Postal Service to manage the influx of ballots. USPS Postmaster General Louis DeJoy came under fire after being appointed to the role in June for making changes to the federal mail agency that were seen as potentially detrimental to the efficiency of mail delivery ahead of the election. DeJoy swore to halt any further changes until after the 2020 election cycle was completed.
Additionally, the time frame for the Elections Office to receive and count ballots has been extended by the state to allow for ballots to be counted up to 17 days after Election Day. As long as mailed ballots are postmarked by midnight on Nov. 3 and arrive at the elections office by Nov. 20, officials will count the ballot, said Irizarry.
Those concerned with sending ballots through the mail can drop completed and signed ballots in one of 36 outdoor drop boxes which are managed by the Elections Office. Irizarry said outdoor boxes placed throughout the county are highly secure having been built out of military grade steel. The boxes are also fire resistant, built to smother oxygen once the mail slot is closed.
On Election Day, additional ballot drop-boxes will be stationed curbside and monitored by election officials at all 45 vote centers to provide residents with 81 locations where a ballot can be returned without entering a building. Three ballot drop boxes will also be placed inside the north, central and early voting centers.
Though registration for a nonprovisional ballot ends Oct. 19, interested voters may register for a provisional ballot up to Election Day, including at vote centers. The county’s Elections Office is responsible for managing races in 60 jurisdictions with 133 unique ballots but Irizarry said the office is well prepared to manage this year’s election cycle.
“We’re an experienced county that has been conducting vote-by-mail elections since 2016. Voting by mail and voting at vote centers is safe and secure, and given the options there’s no excuse for not voting,” said Irizarry.
Visit smcvote.org for more information on this year’s election cycle.
(1) comment
Persons should be advised what to do if they receive a ballot for someone that no longer lives at their address. Having worked as a census enumerator, a lot of people have moved in 2020.
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