Contact: Mark Church, Chief Elections Officer & Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder
Alternate: David Tom, Elections Division Manager

(Redwood City, CA) On Friday, May 27, authorized staff of the San Mateo County Registration & Elections Division will open and process returned Vote by Mail ballots for the June 7, 2016 Presidential Primary Election.

“I welcome and encourage members of the public to visit the Registration & Elections Division during this exciting time,” stated Mark Church, San Mateo County’s Chief Elections Officer & Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder. “The processing of Vote by Mail ballots will continue daily through the Official Canvass,” he added.

Election officials may open the return envelopes containing marked mail ballots beginning ten (10) business days before Election Day. For each ballot, an election official will compare the voter’s signature on the outside of the envelope to the signature on the voter’s original registration application or other updated signatures from vote by mail requests or previously verified ballots to ensure the signatures match. The ballot is then separated from the envelope to preserve secrecy. Next, the ballot will be digitally scanned, capturing the voting marks in the scanning system’s memory. Voting marks will not be tabulated (counted) or reported until the close of voting 8 p.m. Election Day.

Those interested in observing the process may come to the Registration & Elections Division, 40 Tower Road, San Mateo at any time or make prior arrangements by contacting Elections Supervisor Melinda Dubroff at 650.312.5390 or mdubroff@smcare.org.

Registered voters may use the Check My Registration/Access my Election Materials/View My Voter Information Pamphlet link under the “Voters” section on www.shapethefuture.org to verify when ballot materials were mailed and when the Registration & Elections Division received their voted ballot.

The last day for registered voters to request a Vote by Mail Ballot for the June Primary is Tuesday, May 31, 2016. Voted mail ballots can only be accepted if they are postmarked on or before Election Day, June 7, and received by Friday, June 10. Voters may also deliver their voted ballots in person to the Registration & Elections Division’s 24-hour ballot drop box, or to any polling place or Voting Center, on June 7. The drop boxes, polling places, and Voting Centers close at 8 p.m. on Election Day.

June 7, 2016 Election will have Traditional Voting Opportunities

Unlike the November 2015 All-Mailed Ballot Election, the June 2016 Presidential Primary Election is a traditional election with neighborhood polling places for most county residents. Voters are assigned a particular polling place indicated on the back cover of the Sample Ballot and Official Voter Information Pamphlet and listed on our website www.shapethefuture.org under Access My Election Materials. Voters who live in precincts with less than 250 voters will be sent a Vote by Mail ballot.

For more information on the June 7, 2016 Presidential Primary Election, please call 650.312.5222, visit www.shapethefuture.org or follow us on Twitter @smcvote.

The press release is displayed in its original format. San Mateo County Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder & Elections website now resides at www.smcacre.org