Contact: Mark Church, Chief Elections Officer & Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder
Alternate: Jim Irizarry, Asst. Chief Elections Officer & Asst. Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder
(Redwood City, CA) Mark Church, Chief Elections Officer & Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder announced that starting Friday, October 14, the San Mateo County Registration & Elections Division will begin opening and processing returned Vote by Mail ballots for the November 8, 2022 Statewide General Election. The public and the media are welcome to observe these activities.
Election officials may open the return envelopes containing voted mail ballots beginning 29 business days before Election Day. Operating hours for opening and processing will be daily, Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. or when all ballots are processed for the day until the Official Canvass is complete.
For each ballot, an election official will first 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 on file from previous elections and the Department of Motor Vehicles.
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 scanned ballots will not be counted or reported until the close of voting at 8 p.m. on Election Day, November 8, 2022.
Those interested in observing this process, or any other election process, may come to the Registration & Elections Division office at 40 Tower Road in San Mateo at any time. Space is limited, and there may be a wait. Time-specific appointments may be made online by sending an email to ElectionOberserver@smcacre.org. Observers will receive a copy of the Election Observer Program Guidelines, which specifies observer rights, responsibilities and limitations, and a copy of the Vote by Mail Processing Procedures. For all other questions, you may contact Jim Irizarry, Assistant Chief Elections Officer & Assistant Assessor-Clerk-Recorder at jirizarry@smcacre.org.