Friday is Last Day to File Resolution

Two jurisdictions have already filed resolutions for inclusion on the May 5, 2009 ballot. Jefferson Elementary School District and Woodside Elementary School District have both filed their measures for voters to consider during the all-mail election.

There’s still a possibility that other jurisdictions will file resolutions before tomorrow’s deadline. We’ve heard that the San Carlos School District held a meeting on Wed., Feb. 4, to discuss the pros and cons of a May election with interested community members.

The meeting, held at Central Middle School, discussed the reconsideration of a parcel tax measure that was defeated in November’s Presidential General Election.  It was only a discussion, however, and not a meeting to create a resolution.

Feb. 6  is the last day that any interested jurisdiction can file a resolution for election services or consolidation for the May 5 All-Mail Ballot Election.  Measures will be posted on www.shapethefuture.org after the deadline has passed.  Ballot questions are currently available.

Do you have questions about filing?  Contact Lupe Sanchez, Filing Officer, at lsanchez@smcare.org.

No Election Day Holiday Initiative

The Secretary of State sent an advisory to county elections officials today, notifying us that a petition circulating to make Election Day a holiday failed to obtain the required amount of voter signatures.

Here’s the actual text from the petition:

ELECTION DAY HOLIDAY. INITIATIVE STATUTE, Declares a state holiday on
Election Day – the Tuesday following the first Monday in November during men-numbered
years. Sum- of estimate by Legislative Analyst and Director of Finance of fiscal impact on
state and local government: Increased state costs once every two years of up to $20 miIlion.
(Initiative 08-001 3.)

Want to learn more about the initiative process?  Check out this link from the CA Secretary of State’s website!

Meet Our Filing Officer

Lupe Sanchez, our filing officer, is the go-to person for all things filing related.

Persons interested in running as candidates for open seats, jurisdictions interested in holding elections, and officials and committees continuing in active status would contact Lupe to submit required paperwork and gather information about pending deadlines.

Lupe can be reached at 650-312-5293 or lsanchez@smcare.org.

Lately, our office has been the recipient of visits from various committees who are all trying to meet the deadline to submit their semi-annual 460s (Campaign Finance Statement Disclosures).  Lupe’s been busy ensuring that their paperwork is fully complete, signed by the correct persons, date stamped, and filed by our office.

She’s also been getting calls from various jurisdictions inquiring about possible upcoming election dates and costs.  Elections Code 1500 states that the first Tuesday following the first Monday in May of all years is a designated date for all-mail ballot elections.  The deadline to submit a resolution to conduct an election in May is Feb. 6 at 5 p.m.

Unless the state calls for a special election for the budget, May 5 is the earliest possible date for an election this year.

Right now, the only confirmed election is scheduled for Nov. 3.  For more information about the election in November, read our previous post.

Want more information about the Elections Code, which outlines our procedures listed above?  Visit the online Elections Code reference site at http://tinyurl.com/7zf2ka.

Start Preparing Now for Upcoming Elections

Now is the time to start preparing if you’re considering to run for office in the near future.  In November 2009, a number of jurisdictions are scheduled to hold an election per our previous blog post.

If you are interested in serving on a board, get your campaign ready by checking out related deadlines and requirements.  Our website, www.shapethefuture.org, contains a plethora of resources for potential candidates including campaign filing requirements, city clerk contact information, instructions for filing arguments and rebuttals, and how to get voter data.

You may also want to get to know your elected officials and jurisdictions and read up on their charters, codes, election cycle info, and meeting dates and times.  Our Decision Makers guide is a publication we produce that frames
four sections: (1) a list of elective districts, organized by role and level of government;
(2) for each district and official, detailed contact information and terms of office; (3) a
“finder” list of officials’ names, with associated district; and (4) a chart of regularly
scheduled elections.   An online version of this guide can be found at http://www.shapethefuture.org/elections/elec_officials/default.asp.

Contact Lupe Sanchez, our Candidate Filing Officer, at lsanchez@smcare.org if you have any questions or concerns about candidate and measure filing.

Elections Officials updated at CACEO Conference

We’re at the CACEO Conference in Sacramento this week participating in panel discussions and committee roundtables that discuss various issues that we face in Elections.

The agenda? San Mateo County participated in a committee discussion regarding provisional voting on Wednesday.  In San Mateo County, we had about 16,000 provisional voters.  Compare that to Los Angeles County who had over 250,000!  Items discussed included legislative amendment possibilities and security of voter information when observers are present.

On Thursday, county officials will attend a series of lectures that will review various subject such as review of chapter legislation, ballot design, Elections Administration Commission Updates, and audits of poll worker training.

Friday’s agenda includes meetings at Secretary of State Debra Bowen’s office where we will be introduced to Elections Staff and review 2008 SOS outreach activities, legislation, and HAVA.

Stay tuned to our Twitter at http://twitter.com/smcvote for up-to-date informational tidbits from our conference!

Local Voter Guide separate from SOS Guide – Getting it out to late registrants reimburseable

Voters who registered to vote after the E – 60 mark (60 days prior to the election) received a state voter information guide much later than voters who were already on the rolls.   Why?

The California Secretary of State’s office sends a separate voter information guide from the County. Typically, County guides (which we call Sample Ballot & Official Voter Information Pamphlet) contain more local information, such as local measures and candidates.  We tailor it specifically for the voters of the County.

The state guide includes statewide propositions, state or federal candidates, and other more general information that pertains to all voters within California.

They send it out pretty early — it usually starts arriving in boxes about 1 1/2 to 2 months prior to an election.  Because of this, the State relies on the Counties to send out a supplemental mailing to voters who register after the original mailing was sent.

We had a huge influx of registration, as we’ve probably mentioned a couple of times.  This necessitated sending multiple mailings of both county and state guides to ensure that voters received information about the ballot as soon as possible.

The total number of registered voters that received state guides during our supplemental mailings was 28,238. Some  costs associated with the publishing and issuing of guides to voters who register after the first issues are mailed are reimbursable. Curious about what’s reimburseable and what’s not? Visit the SOS website at http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/ccrov/pdf/2008/november/08319km.pdf.

Especially for First Time Voters

Registration numbers spiked to 389,718 San Mateo County voters prior to the deadline for the Nov. 4th Election. Thousands of first-time voters were motivated to cast a ballot for this nationally and locally historic election.

If you are a first-time voter, take special note of what to expect on Election Day.  It’s going to be craziness on Tuesday, and a little preparation will go a long way.

Our Sample Ballot and Official Voter Information Pamphlet has great advice for first-time voters.  Here’s a recap of what we published:

Anatomy of Election ’08

What are you doing on Election Night?  Take a journey through Elections with Anatomy of Election ’08!

Co-sponsored by the San Mateo County Elections Office, PenTV, and Comcast, Channel 26 is broadcasting a first-of-its-kind look at what it takes to conduct an election.

Mark Simon and Bob Marks of PenTV will be talking with candidates, elected officials, and members of the community while Kevin Mullin of KM2 Communications takes you behind-the scenes to look at the different functions of the Elections Office.

You’ll be able to see us process Vote by Mail ballots, collect ballots as they come in from the polls on Election Night, and get results fresh off the presses as the are released at 8:05 p.m., 8:30 p.m., and every half hour thereafter till we close up for the night at midnight.

Check it out!  Channel 26 within San Mateo County from 7 p.m. – midnight on Election Night.  If you don’t get PenTV, check out the live stream on http://www.shapethefuture.org/elections/results/november2008/anatomyofelection.asp.

First-Timers and Provisional Voters

We are fully expecting the polls to be packed on Nov. 4 and we want to address two different voting scenarios that may catch voters unaware at the polls.  If you are a first time voter or you show up to vote at a precinct that may not be expecting you, there may be a few extra requirements needed from you before you cast your ballot.

First Time Voters

If this is going to be your first time voting, and you’re planning to vote at the polls, keep in mind that you may have to show some I.D.California Elections Code requires identification to be shown at the polls if it was not verified when you registered to vote.

Don’t be caught off guard. Have your identification ready just in case. There are 30 forms of acceptable identification – from a driver’s license to a utility bill. Check out http://www.shapethefuture.org/voters/first-time.asp for more info.

Provisional Voting

Provisional voting occurs when a voter does not appear on a precinct’s roster.  This can occur for a number of reasons.

• The voter’s name is not on the roster at the polling place.
• The voter is a first-time voter and cannot provide the required identification to poll workers.
• The voter is listed on the roster as a Vote by Mail voter, and wants to vote in person instead but does not have an Vote by Mail ballot to surrender. Voters who do bring their Vote by Mail ballots to drop off at the polls are not provisional voters.
• The voter moved and did not re-register at his/her new address.
• The voter wishes to vote on a ballot for a political party with which the voter is not affiliated (not applicable in general elections).

Provisional Ballots are cast on paper ballots — not on the eSlates.  After the voter marks his/her choices on the ballot, the voter will place the voted ballot into a Provisional Ballot Envelope and fill out the information necessary including a signature — similar to the information placed on a Vote by Mail envelope.

The Provisional Ballots will go through the same process as Vote by Mail ballots.  Signatures will be verified to confirm voter eligibility.  Once it is verified, the ballots will be extracted as we explained in our previous post and the ballots will be processed for counting.

Still have questions?  Call (650) 312-5222!

Updated Mailing Schedule for the Sample Ballot

Over 55% of voters should receive their Sample Ballot & Official Voter Information Pamphlet in the mail by tomorrow if they haven’t already received it, according to our mailing schedule.

Beginning Fri., Sept. 26, tens of thousands of booklets have been dropped off at various County post offices for delivery to voters.  Because of precinct borders, residents in some cities will receive the booklets before their neighbors.

The Sample Ballot & Official Voter Information Pamphlet has been broken down into 65 ballot styles.  Ballot styles encompass each area that the included contests affect.  For example, in the City of San Mateo, it will take three different ballot styles to cover all the voting districts within the city lines.

Below is the schedule for mailed and projected mailing dates for the Sample Ballot & Official Voter Information Pamphlet of the Nov. 4 Presidential General Election.

For questions regarding this schedule, please feel free to contact the Elections Office at 650-312-5222.