Anonymous
Source: County of Santa Barbara
The Santa Barbara County Registrar of Voters is committed to ensuring that voters can exercise their right to vote in a safe, secure and accessible manner during the General Election on November 3.
As other counties in California and states across the U.S. are responding to power outages, wildfires, civil unrest and possible hurricanes, the County Elections Office has been working diligently with local and state partners to prepare for a wide range of conditions that could impact a safe and secure process for voters.
Although there are no indicators of potential security or natural hazard concerns in Santa Barbara County in the coming days leading up to Election Day, County officials and partners want to assure the community that plans are in place to protect the community and secure the voting process, including:
- sharing voting locations with local power utilities and coordinating back up power solutions for all locations;
- developing processes and procedures for closing locations if needed (e.g., an evacuation), and directing community members to safe locations for voting;
- coordination with local law enforcement to ensure voters feel safe and thattheir ballots will be securely collected and counted; and
- requiring face coverings at all polling locations, having extra disposable masks and accomodation processes if needed, and general sanitation procedures.
Voters are urged to cast their ballots as early as possible to avoid delays and waiting lines at the polling places scheduled to be open Saturday, Oct. 31 through Election Day, Nov. 3. As of today, the U.S. Post Office cannot guarantee that mailed ballots will be postmarked on or before Nov. 3.
To ensure a ballot is returned in time, voters are encouraged to use a ballot drop box or visit their polling place, including the three Elections Offices in Santa Barbara, Santa Maria and Lompoc listed below.
Reminders on locations, dates and times for Ballot Drop Boxes and Polling Locations:
Ballot Drop Boxes (30 throughout the county) – Safely return your voted ballot to any Official Drop Box 24 hours a day until 8 p.m. on November 3. Don’t forget to sign the envelope.
Polling Places (35 polling locations) – In addition to three Elections Offices open now, safely return your voted ballot or vote in person at your official polling location during the following days and times:
- Saturday, Oct. 31, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.
- Sunday, Nov. 1, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.
- Monday, Nov. 2; 9 a.m. – 6 p.m.
- Tuesday, Nov. 3; 7 a.m. – 8 p.m.
The Santa Barbara County Registrar of Voters Office wants to help make the voting process as easy as possible. Resources for Santa Barbara County voters are available at SBCVote.com. The Secretary of State also has resources for California voters at vote.ca.gov.
For questions or assistance, call (800) SBC-VOTE or go to SBCVote.com.
I too thank the department. Some of us know or can well imagine what you are dealing with.
“As of today, the U.S. Post Office cannot guarantee that mailed ballots will be postmarked on or before Nov. 3.” Sad how this could be allowed – this statement was made 5 days before Nov 3.
As always, many thanks to Joe Holland and his efficient staff at the County Elections Department.