On Tuesday, the San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors voted 3-2 to return to pre-COVID-19 voting procedures in 2022.
That means having around 76 polling stations and people will need to request a mail-in ballot.
The meeting itself was almost 15 hours long and was contentious at times.
The other option would have been fewer voting centers, and all registered voters in the county would have received a mail-in ballot. It would have been an extension of the pandemic-era procedures.
Supervisor Bruce Gibson said it would have allowed people to vote more easily, and the centers would have been open four to ten days instead of just on Election Day.
Voters in the county would have automatically received a ballot in the mail, but they also could have the option to vote in person. This would have cost the county an additional $30,000.
Many members of the community attended the meeting and described their concerns with mail-in ballots.
However, the County Clerk-Recorder, Tommy Gong, said, “I have yet to be provided any evidence of any potential voter fraud. That would be something we would certainly investigate. If any wrongdoing’s happening, we would report that to the District Attorney’s Office.”
The return to traditional voting procedures is slated to happen in 2022.
The recall election would proceed under pandemic restrictions, meaning all registered voters would receive the mail-in ballots.
