Contact: Mark Church, Chief Elections Officer & Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder
Alternate: David Tom, Deputy Chief Elections Officer & Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder
Redwood City, CA –All voters in the May 3, 2011 Consolidated Local Special Election were sent their Vote by Mail packets during the first week of April. About half of the county’s voters are already signed up to vote by mail permanently. “This election will provide all voters the chance to give vote by mail a try,” said Chief Elections Officer & Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder Mark Church.
As of today, 41,792 of the 342,323 registered voters in San Mateo County have already voted. With 13 days left to vote in the May 3 election, the voter turnout has already reached 12 percent.
Of special interest to all voters in this election is the county’s online Track & Confirm feature that tracks when a ballot is mailed and verifies its return to the Elections Office.
“Once a voter has mailed back their ballot, peace of mind is just a click away,” said Church. Available online at www.shapethefuture.org, the Track & Confirm feature requires a voter to type in three simple pieces of data - his/her residential address number, his/her zip code and his/her date of birth to confirm the status of his/her ballot. Voters should click on the blue bar that says, “Check My Registration/Voter Information” and look at date(s) listed in the Track & Confirm section.
Track & Confirm works just like the barcode scanning systems used by shipping companies. Each voter’s return envelope for his/her Vote by Mail ballot has a unique barcode associated with his/her voter registration file. The barcodes are scanned when ballots are sent from and received by the Elections Office, and the data is uploaded to Track & Confirm.
“Every day brings a mountain of mail to process,” Church explained. “Updates to the Track & Confirm application are posted daily after 9 p.m. Voters can check on a daily basis until they receive confirmation that his/her ballot has been received.”
Knowing that a ballot is received is especially important because ballots must be received on or before 8 p.m. at the Elections Office in order to count in the upcoming May 3 special election. Ballots postmarked May 3, 2011 not received by this date are not counted.
“It’s important for voters to know that if they run short of time, there are still a number of options for voting,” Church noted.
Drop Off Locations:
A voter can drop off their Vote by Mail ballot at any city hall in the county during their regular business hours or drop off his/her ballot at the Elections Office at 40 Tower Road in San Mateo or 555 County Center in Redwood City, First Floor, in the days preceding the election.
Voting Centers:
A voter can vote on the accessible eSlates or drop off their Vote by Mail at the Voting Centers listed below. The centers will be open April 25 through April 29 at the times inidicated:
Daly City – 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Galleria Room at Serramonte del Rey, 699 Serramonte Boulevard
Millbrae – 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Millbrae Community Center, 477 Lincoln Circle
Half Moon Bay – 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Half Moon Bay Library, 620 Correas Street
San Mateo – 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Elections Office, 40 Tower Road
Redwood City – 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Assessor-Clerk-Recorder’s Officer, 555 County Center, 1st Floor
Election Day Voting – May 3, 2011
Voters can drop off their ballots at ANY city hall in the County during the regular business hours for that city or vote in person at the San Mateo and Redwood City Voting Centers between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m.
“As a last resort, a voter can always vote a provisional ballot at the Elections Office if receipt of his/her voted ballot is in doubt,” Church noted.
The press release is displayed in its original format. San Mateo County Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder & Elections website now resides at www.smcacre.org