Contact: Mark Church, Chief Elections Officer & Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder
Alternate: Jim Irizarry, Assistant Chief Elections Officer & Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder
(Redwood City, CA) On Tuesday, February 21, authorized staff of the San Mateo County Registration & Elections Division will begin processing returned Vote by Mail ballots for the upcoming March 7, 2017 Menlo Park City Elementary School District Special Election.
“Preparations are currently underway for the opening and processing of returned Vote by Mail ballots beginning next Tuesday,” announced Mark Church, San Mateo County’s Chief Elections Officer & Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder. “Members of the public are invited to observe our Vote by Mail operations at the Registration & Elections Division, located at 40 Tower Road, in San Mateo,” he added.
Election officials may begin opening the return envelopes containing voted mail ballots ten (10) business days before Election Day. This process will continue daily throughout the Official Canvass.
For each ballot, an election official will carefully compare the voter’s signature on the outside of the return envelope to the signature on the voter’s original registration application or other updated signatures on file.
The ballot is separated from the envelope to preserve secrecy. The envelope is saved for the mandatory retention period and the ballot is digitally scanned. The voting marks captured in the scanning system’s memory will not be tabulated (counted) or reported until the close of voting at 8 p.m. on Election Day.
Those interested in viewing these activities are welcome to visit at any time during office hours. To arrange a visit, contact Elections Supervisor Melinda Dubroff at 650.312.5390 or mdubroff@smcare.org. Observers will receive a copy of our Election Observer Program Guidelines which specify observer rights, responsibilities and limitations, and a copy of the Vote by Mail procedures.
Registered voters may use the “Check My Registration/Access my Election Materials/View My Voter Information Pamphlet/Track My Ballot” 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 ballot to be mailed to them in time for the March 7, 2017 Menlo Park City Elementary School District Special Election is Tuesday, February 28, 2017. Voted mail ballots can only be accepted if they are postmarked on or before Election Day, March 7, and received by Friday, March 10, 2017. 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 in the school district on March 7. The drop box, polling places, and 40 Tower Road Voting Center close at 8 p.m. on Election Day.
For more information on the March 7, 2017 Menlo Park City Elementary School District Special Election, please call 650.312.5222, visit www.shapethefuture.org or follow @smcvote on Twitter.
The press release is displayed in its original format. San Mateo County Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder & Elections website now resides at www.smcacre.org