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

(Redwood City, CA) San Mateo County’s Chief Elections Officer, Mark Church announced today that Tuesday, October 9 is the first day of the early voting period for the November 6, 2012 Presidential General Election.  The early voting period is from October 9 through November 5, 2012, during which any eligible voter may cast a ballot at one of the two Voting Center sites:

Office of the Chief Elections Officer and Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder

(1)  555 County Center, First Floor, Redwood City
(2)  Elections Division - 40 Tower Road, San Mateo

“As a convenience to voters, we provide several options for early voting. Voters may join our Vote by Mail program or they may go to one of our two Voting Centers where they can vote on a voting machine or vote by paper ballot or drop off a voted mail ballot,” Church added.  Hours of operation for the two Voting Centers are as follows

Tuesday Oct. 9 to Monday Oct. 5 (Both sites): weekdays, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Saturday Oct. 27 and Nov. 3 (Both sites): 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Tuesday, November 6 (Election Day) (Both sites): 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.

To vote by mail, a registered voter must file an application either for this election only or become a Permanent Vote by Mail voter for this and future elections. An application form is provided in the Voter Information Pamphlet or is available at the official website, www.shapethefuture.org .

The Elections Office will begin to mail out Vote by Mail ballots on October 9 and they will begin to arrive in voter’s mailboxes soon after.  Beginning on October 9, every Vote by Mail voter may use the “Track and Confirm” tool on the official website, to verify when the ballot materials were mailed to the voter and when the returned voted ballot was received.

Voted mail ballots must be physically received by an elections official by 8:00 p.m. on election night, November 6.  Voters may mail in the voted ballot any time during the voting period, or they may deliver it in person to a Voting Center or to any city hall in the county.  On Election Day, they may deliver the voted mail ballot in person to any active polling place in the county until 8:00 p.m. or to any city hall during its normal business hours. 

“We have developed these options and resources to give our voters convenience and peace of mind with the voting process that best fits their needs,” stated Church.

The official website at www.shapethefuture.org also provides polling place locations, voting machine instructions (text and video), answers to frequently asked questions, and election news.

For additional assistance, call the Elections Office at 650.312.5222.  All information and assistance is available in English, Spanish and Chinese.

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