Don’t Forget – Register, then Vote!

With 90 degree or higher temperatures, it is hard to think of anything but enjoying the weekend posted in front of an air conditioner or outdoors beneath the blazing sun at one of the many events going on around the Peninsula.

Between San Carlos’ Hometown Days, Burlingame ‘s Day on the Green, San Mateo’s Immigrant Day Festival, and Bay to Breakers, there is definitely no shortage of activities for this weekend. But don’t let the excitement of the weekend cause you to forget about a very important deadline coming up on Monday.

Monday, May 19, marks the last day to register or re-register to vote in the June 3 Statewide Direct Primary Election. If you are a new voter, have moved, changed your name, or wish to change your party affiliation, now is the time to register to vote.

Want to check your voter registration status? Visit the Elections Office website at http://www.shapethefuture.org/voters/voter_status.asp. The registration status page will tell you whether or not you are registered to vote, and if you are, will tell you where your polling place is located. Keep in mind, however, that polling place locations are selected about 40 days before each election. They may change even as late as up to the day of the election. Please check the site again before going to the polls. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Election Day.

Students Gear Up for Election Day

June is a busy time of year for students.  Some are taking finals, others are graduating, a few go to work, and others take advantage of the time off by jetting to places unknown.

With all the conflicting possibilities happening for students this June, we weren’t really counting on getting as many student poll workers for the June 3 Statewide Direct Primary Election. Only one public high school district in the County would be off for summer by Election Day, and June elections have never had a very high turnout for student poll worker applications in the past.

Thank goodness for the students of the San Mateo Union High School District, and students from Half Moon Bay High School.

As early as the day after notices went out, the fax machine started spitting out applications for the program. Letters came in by the droves indicating student availability. While we may not be anywhere near the numbers we reached for the February 5 Presidential Primary Election, Half Moon Bay High School Government Teacher Shari Baldock achieved what we thought would be improbable for any school this go round; Ms. Baldock sent over 21 student applications.

Add that to the amount of students that applied from high schools like Alma Heights Christian Academy, Aragon, Burlingame, Capuchino, Hillsdale, Mills, San Mateo, and Westmoor, and we’ve got a pretty solid number for June 3.

If you are interested in applying to democracyLIVE!, check out our web page for more information at www.shapethefuture.org/democracylive or come by our booth at Burlingame’s 1st Annual Day on the Green on May 18!

 

Cast your Ballot Now for the June 3 Statewide Direct Primary

Early voting for the June 3 Statewide Direct Primary Election began Monday, allowing voters to cast their ballots early through use of the Universal Voting Centers or Vote by Mail.

During the 29 days period preceding an election, California law allows voters to cast their ballot early thus accomplishing two goals: providing alternate options for voters may be unable to vote on Election Day, and allowing Vote by Mail voters to submit their ballot prior to the deadline.

“Any voter, from any precinct, can come in and vote early,” said San Mateo County Chief Elections Officer Warren Slocum. “I encourage everyone to make their vote a priority. Don’t wait until Election Night when you might have to work late, fight traffic and search for parking. Just make the time to come by and vote.”

Monday also marked the first day that the Elections Office can begin mailing the official Vote by Mail ballots to voters. Slocum encouraged voters, “Keep a lookout for the arrival of your official ballot in the mail; it’s coming!”

If you are not signed up to Vote by Mail, it is not too late to join the 138,636 people in San Mateo County who already got a head start on Election Day by voting through the mail.

“Voting by mail simplifies your life, as voters can decide when and where they want to vote,”Slocum said. “Vote at work, at the kitchen table, or after you’ve put the kids to bed!”

Voters who wish to vote an early electronic or paper ballot can stop by either of our two Universal Voting Centers locations:

40 Tower Road
San Mateo, Ca

555 County Center, 1st Floor
Redwood City, Ca

To turn in your Vote by Mail ballot, simply drop it in the mail, stop by your local city hall (within San Mateo County), or bring it in to one of the Universal Voting Centers. If you forget to turn it in and Election Day arrives, you can drop the voted ballot off at any active polling place within the county – just make sure we get it before 8 p.m. on Election Day.

If you’re not registered as a Vote by Mail voter yet, hurry up! Get an application online at www.shapethefuture.org or call the Elections Office at 650-312-5222. The back cover of your Sample Ballot & Voter Information Pamphlet also has a form that you can return to request a Vote by Mail ballot.

Voters may also fax or mail a written request to Vote by Mail to the Elections Office stating: (1) voter’s full name; (2) voter’s San Mateo County residence address; (3) voter’s mailing address, if different from the residence address; (4) name and date of the election for which you want the Vote by Mail ballot; and (5) the voter’s signature. Requests can be mailed to 40 Tower Road, San Mateo, CA 94402 or faxed to 650-312-5348. Requests must be received by the Elections Office no later than 5 p.m. on Tues., May 27. A postmark is not acceptable.

By the way, if you send in anything by mail, don’t forget that postage rates change to 42 cents beginning May 12.

“Voting has never been easier or more convenient,” Slocum said. “Take advantage of these opportunities and make every effort to vote early.”

Still Looking for Poll Workers

We’re still looking for over 500 more poll workers for the June 3 Statewide Direct Primary Election.

Already a poll worker? Ask a friend or family member to join you!

You have to go to work that day? No problem! Sign up to be a Poll Opening and/or Closing Technician instead. These positions occur before the polls open and after the polls closed, so it shouldn’t interfere with work hours for anyone having to report in between 8 a.m. and 7 p.m.

Aren’t old enough to vote? Become a student poll worker! We are still accepting applications for students over the age of 16, who have at least a 2.5 GPA, and receive school and parent/guardian consent.

For more information about poll worker opportunities, visit our website at http://www.shapethefuture.org/poll_workers/helpwanted.asp or call 650-312-5222. While you’re applying, sign up for training. It’s all available online and over the phone!

Use Your Resources

Poll worker classes for the June 3 Statewide Direct Primary Election begin tomorrow, but resources are available now to anyone wishing to brush up on Elections Operations ahead of schedule. On the Elections website, www.shapethefuture.org, are a number of poll worker tools that can aid in the preparation of Election Day.

In addition to online training registration and schedule availability, various handbooks are available such as the Election Officer Handbook, eSlate Operations Guide, and the Opening and Closing flip books. Past issues of the POLLcat, the Poll Worker newsletter that includes news and event information as well as useful operations tips, can also be found on the Poll Worker resource page.

Other information available online includes candidate guidelines, political party descriptions, sample ballot and voter information pamphlets, and voter registration options.

democracyLIVE! on the radio

If you didn’t get a chance to check out Wild 94.9’s “Keyword:Community” program yesterday, check out the podcast now available for download or streaming by clicking here. We’re on the program dated April 20.

San Mateo County’s democracyLIVE! Coordinator sat in with Wild 94.9’s Jon Manuel and Anna Uribe to talk about how high school students can get involved with the elections process by joining the student poll worker program.

If you haven’t read our previous posts, the program was designed to offer students a hands-on experience that provides an inside look at how American democracy works.

To learn more about how to participate in democracyLIVE!, contact our democracyLIVE! Coordinator by sending an email or calling 650-599-1335. You can also visit the Elections website at www.shapethefuture.org/democracylive.

democracyLIVE! Applications Accepted Now

Wouldn’t it be great if you could get a day off school, make some money, maybe log in a few community service hours, but learn at the same time? Guess what – you can! Join democracyLIVE!, San Mateo County’s student poll worker program, and do your part for the community.

California established the student poll worker program in 1996 in an effort to get high school seniors involved in the community while getting an inside look at democracy in action. In 2006, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger expanded the program by allowing students aged 16 and up with at least a 2.5 grade point average to serve as poll workers.

During the February 3 Presidential Primary Election, almost 500 students from schools throughout the Peninsula area took part in this program. Participation averaged 15 students per school, with a few notable exceptions.

Most notable is Woodside High School, where 33 students took part in the program. Woodside High School has participated in democracyLIVE! since its inception in 2005, and interest in the program has reached an all-time high at this school.

Economics teacher Wendy Porter, who assisted coordination of the program at Woodside High School believes that the heightened participation may be due specifically to the overall interest in the Presidential election cycle, but also believes that there may be an increased awareness of social responsibility.

“When you ask [the students] about it, they’re positive about the connection with the community,” Porter said. “There’s that sense of empowerment of students not just sitting there and waiting for adults to tell them what to do, but helping them.”

The Elections Office opted not to ask schools to support the program for the April 8 Special Congressional Open Primary Election to prevent any issues from arising due to school absences. With all the elections going on this year, it made sense to us to not ask students to partake in an election that would likely get little action at the polls.

With poll worker recruitment just around the corner for the June 3 Statewide Direct Primary Election, we’re going full force with publicity efforts.

Wild 94.9 (KYLD), a Clear Channel radio station in San Francisco, is featuring the program in a special interview being aired on April 20. Our democracyLIVE! Coordinator had the opportunity to sit in with Jon Manuel and Anna Uribe to talk about democracyLIVE! and how students and the community both benefit from this great program. They’re also showing their support of democracyLIVE! by airing special public service announcements throughout the week, encouraging students to sign up for this unique learning experience. Listen to Wild 94.9’s Jon Manuel’s Keyword Community program on April 20 from 7 a.m. to 7:30 a.m. to check out our interview! The Keyword Community program airs every Sunday.

No Snooze Button Needed

My alarm clock is a good little friend. It’s patient, enduring and doesn’t give up on me – even when I get upset and threaten to throw it against a wall.

My little clock’s dreams for me finally came to fruition when I woke up right at 5 a.m. But truth be told, I didn’t really wake up for my clock’s sake. The fact that today is Election Day and I had to get to the polls to help set up was definitely an influential factor.

As a voter, I’ve often taken for granted the work that goes into putting together an election. I usually just show up at the polls, vote my ballot, and go on my merry way. Being on the other side has definitely put things into perspective. If you’ve read our earlier posts, you know that we started working on today’s election back in February.

Sample ballots have to be designed and written, poll workers have to be trained, equipment has to be tested…and it all culminates into one big final exam at the end of the preparation period where all the weeks of work are tested by poll workers’ ability to get the polling places up and running by 7 a.m. To get the polls running, a slew of task items have to be checked off, like:

• Posting the Flag
• Assembling the eSlates and other electronic voting equipment
• Putting together regular voting booths
• Unpacking the supply case
• Confirming the correct supplies were delivered
• Setting up the voter rosters
• Reviewing and signing of seals, locks and logs
• Administering the “Oath of Election Officers”

Smooth Voting Takes Preparation

Understanding your voting options can be hard enough during a regular election, but a Special Congressional Open Primary can be even more confusing. We want to make sure you’re prepared when you head to the polls tomorrow. Remember … smooth voting takes preparation.

Verify your registration status for voting in this election by visiting the San Mateo County Elections website. The deadline to register to vote in the April 8 Special Congressional Open Primary was March 24.

While you’re online, confirm your polling place! Over 60 locations were changed prior to the Nov. 2007 election in order to comply with accessibility, electrical and space requirements. If you can’t make it to our website, check the back cover of your Sample Ballot & Official Voter Information Pamphlet. You can also find polling place info at the League of Women Voters website.

Brush up on how to vote. Instructions on how to use the eSlate voting machine can be found online, in the Sample Ballot & Official Voter Information Pamphlet, and at the polling place.

“This is a perfect opportunity for voters who have never voted on the eSlate voting system to do so!” said Slocum. “With only one contest on the ballot in the Special Congressional Open Primary Election, it takes very little time to vote. Voters who haven’t tried the eSlates as yet, will discover just how easy it is to use but shouldn’t hesitate asking for help if they need it,” Slocum said. “Our poll workers are more than happy to help!”

When you head to the polls, bring ID if you are a first-time voter. Over 30 forms of id will be accepted, including a driver’s license, state identification card, passport, student ID, government-issued check, or utility bill showing your name and address.

If you are a Vote by Mail voter, and you haven’t mailed in your ballot, plan to drop off your Vote by Mail ballot at the Elections Office or any polling place in San Mateo County within the 12th Congressional District. We can’t count your vote if it isn’t in on time, so drop it off in person at any of the following locations by 8 p.m. on Election Day:

• The Elections Office at 40 Tower Road in San Mateo or 555 County Center in Redwood City,
• Any city hall in San Mateo County within the 12th Congressional District during normal business hours, or
• Any San Mateo County polling place within the 12th Congressional District on Election Day, between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m. It doesn’t even have to be in your home precinct.

Postmarks don’t count!

Even more improved Election Night results reporting

In November, we unveiled more useful, transparent and customizable election results reporting on our Web site. Back then we said that surely this was not your grandmother’s results reporting.

And now we’ll wager it’s not even your mother’s.

We’ve made many improvements since, especially to what we’re now calling RaceTracker (formerly Track a Contest). Instead of having to comb through pages and pages of results, it’s the easiest and fastest way to find instant and detailed the results of the races that matter to you.

New features include:

· Contest votes broken down by voters who voted by mail, voted early, or voted the polls on Election Day.

· Google maps that display the precincts that voted on a particular contest.

· The option to view contest results in pie-chart format.

· A cleaner, easier-to-navigate box that creates and stores your contest history so you can easily and continually check results on the races you’re interested in.

· The ability to display contest results by precinct.

It’s pretty cool, if we do say so ourselves.

All the nifty features we had last time around are still there for making Election Night results more useful and transparent, including our Precinct Tracker, which shows the real time location of voting equipment as it moves through the Election Night process, and the Tally Room Cam, which gives viewers a window into the secure room at elections headquarters were votes are tallied. Our post from November’s election will give you all the details. They’re both designed to make the process after the polls close more open and accessible to you, even from your computer.

Also still there are the evening’s reporting schedule, the results archive of previous elections and thresholds for passing ballot measures. 

The first results will be reported at 8:05 p.m. tonight. The next batch follows at 8:30 p.m. and every half hour thereafter until we’re done. Again, check our reporting schedule for details. As we’ve done in the past, we’ll release results in PDF format for easy download and printing (which requires Adobe Reader) and in a Web-based report directly on our Web site.

Results are just hours away; visit the results portal of our Web site here. Until then, steady streams of voters are hitting the polls. More on them later (and join them if you haven’t yet!).