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

(Redwood City, CA) On April 28, the San Mateo County Registration & Elections Division began mailing the Sample Ballot and Voter Information Pamphlet to more than 355,000 registered voters for the June 7, 2016 Presidential Primary Election. This year there are two versions: one for voters registered with one of California’s six qualified political parties, and one for voters registered with no party preference or a non-qualified political party.

All voters will receive a pamphlet in English. The approximately 7,500 voters who have requested their materials in Spanish or Chinese also will be mailed the pamphlet in their preferred language. Voters who favor Chinese or Spanish language election materials may request them at the time they register to vote or at any time thereafter. Additional copies and accessible formats of the pamphlet are provided on request.

Voters participating in the Go Green! program received an email notifying them that their Sample Ballot and Official Voter Information Pamphlet is now available online. Any voter may view or download the pamphlet by visiting www.shapethefuture.org and clicking on “View My Voter Information Pamphlet."

The Sample Ballot and Official Voter Information Pamphlet is a valuable resource for voters. It includes:

• A sample of your Official Ballot
• Information about candidates and measures on your ballot
• Voting Options (Vote by Mail, Voting Centers, Polling Places and Ballot Drop-off Locations)
• Voter resources (websites, email addresses and phone numbers)

"I encourage voters to review the material carefully and mark their choices on their sample ballot, and, if they are voting at the polls on Election Day, to bring it with them," said Church. "That extra preparation helps the voter, the election officers and voters who may be waiting in line at the polls. More importantly, it helps voters make sure that his or her choices are the ones the individual meant to be selected.”

In addition to the county pamphlet, registered voters will also receive an Official Voter Information Guide from the California Secretary of State. 

“Voters should review both the county pamphlet and the state guide,” said Church. “These are not duplicate materials. The state guide contains the U.S. Senate candidate statements and information on the state propositions. The county pamphlet has candidate statements for other contests and information on regional and local measures.”

For more information about the Presidential Primary Election, contact the Registration & Elections Division at 650.312.5222 or registrar@smcare.org. Information can also be found at www.shapethefuture.org or 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