Starting Monday, Feb. 5, registered voters in California should start receiving ballots for the Presidential Primary Election in their mailboxes.
The election is March 5, but voters can cast their ballots as soon as they’re received.
Ballots can be returned by mail using the postage-paid envelope provided, dropped into a ballot drop box or delivered in-person to your county’s elections office.
Ballot drop boxes will be open starting Tuesday, Feb. 6. To find a drop box location in San Luis Obispo County, click here. To find a location in Santa Barbara County, click here.
The San Luis Obispo County Elections Office is located at 1055 Monterey Street in San Luis Obispo and is now open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. The Atascadero Elections Office is located at 6565 Capistrano Ave. on the second floor of the library and is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday.
The Santa Barbara County Elections Office in Santa Barbara is located at 4440-A Calle Real and is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. The Santa Maria Elections Office is located at 511 E. Lakeside Parkway, Suite 134, and is open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.
Your ballot must be dropped off or postmarked by March 5 for your vote to be counted.
WHAT IF I GET MORE THAN ONE BALLOT?
Officials with the San Luis Obispo County Elections Office say it’s possible some people – particularly those who recently re-registered because of a name or address change or a change in party affiliation – may end up receiving two ballots.
They say this could happen if you made changes to your voter registration after voter data was sent to the ballot printer on January 5. In this case, you would receive a ballot based on your registration as of January 5, and later, a new ballot that reflects the changes you made.
San Luis Obispo County Clerk-Recorder Elaina Cano says if you get two ballots, you can destroy the first one or take it to the County Elections Office.
“All vote-by-mail ballots include a bar-coded envelope, so once you cast a VBM ballot you will not be able to cast another, even if you’ve been sent two because of a recent change in registration,” Cano said in a press release. “If you fall in the camp of recently re-registered voters who receive two ballots, take a second to make sure that you’re voting the ballot you re-registered for.”
HOW TO TRACK YOUR BALLOT
You can track your ballot from the time it is mailed to you to the time it is counted by your county elections office.
Visit https://wheresmyballot.sos.ca.gov to check the status of your ballot.
For more information about elections in San Luis Obispo County, visit SLOVote.com.
For more information about elections in Santa Barbara County, visit SBCVote.com.
