Primary election ballots are in the mail and on their way to registered voters across California.
Penny Boyd, Deputy Director of the San Luis Obispo County Registrar of Voters, says most voters should receive their ballots within the week.
"Give it about seven days," Boyd said. "If you haven't gotten it by next Monday, go ahead and give us a call, but give USPS time to get it to your mailbox."
It's a delivery voters in the county are used to. According to the San Luis Obispo County Clerk-Recorder's Office, more than 90% of voters in the county cast their ballots by mail.
But for those planning to return their ballot by mail, election officials and the U.S. Postal Service are urging voters not to wait. The Postal Service notes on its website that, "We have made adjustments to our transportation operations that will result in some mailpieces not arriving at our originating processing facilities on the same day that they are mailed."
Boyd says voters should plan ahead to make sure their ballot is counted.
"If you mail your ballot to our office, mail it seven to 10 business days ahead of time just to ensure that it makes it to our office by Election Day," she said.
Some voters, like Steve Shrope, have found their own solution to concerns about mail reliability.
"I always walk downtown and put it in the mailbox right outside the courthouse, so that works really well," Shrope said. "I don't trust the mail system from all the talk, so it gives me a reason to walk downtown and back for the exercise."
For voters who prefer to drop off their ballot in person, drop-off locations open on Tuesday, March 5. The deadline to register to vote ahead of time is May 18, but missing that deadline doesn't mean missing the election.
"We have same-day registration," Boyd said. "So all you have to do is go into a polling place or one of our offices here or in Atascadero and register to vote on the same day."
