Voting by mail
Voting by mail, also referred to as “absentee voting,” has become a popular trend in recent elections. From a voter’s perspective, voting by mail is a very convenient way to cast your vote. Voters have the ability to spend more time analyzing their choices on elected officials and various ballot measures they are considering.
There are three types of vote-by-mail voters:
• Voters that live in precincts with 250 or fewer registered voters are automatically considered vote-by-mail. A precinct is an area into which a city or town is divided for voting.
• A voter, who is assigned to a polling place but decides to receive their ballot by mail for all elections, is considered a permanent vote-by-mail voter.
• A voter, who is assigned to a polling place but requests a ballot to be mailed to them for one election only.
Vote-by-mail ballots will begin to be mailed 29 days prior to Election Day. Normally, Oct. 8 would mark 29 days. However, because this day fell on a federal holiday (Columbus Day), the Registrar of Voters’ staff began distribution of vote-by-mail ballots on Tuesday.
Voters are encouraged to return completed vote-by-mail ballots as soon as possible to assist with the tallying process. For convenience, there are several Valley-wide options for voters to return their ballots.
Election officials have scheduled drop-off locations at city hall facilities in Brawley, Calexico, Calipatria, El Centro, Holtville and Imperial along with the Salton Community Service District for two weeks prior to Election Day. For a complete schedule of city drop-off locations visit the Registrar of Voters webpage at www.co.imperial. ca.us/regvoters.
Beginning Oct. 20, the Mobile Voting Unit will travel to various locations around Imperial County, giving all registered voters the opportunity to cast their ballots early for the Nov. 6 election. Two events have been added to this year’s schedule for the Mobile Voting Unit: Imperial Market Days on Oct. 20 and the Brawley Chili Cook-off on Nov. 3.
Vote-by-mail voters may also drop off their completed ballots at any of the mobile voting locations. A complete list of locations and times for the Mobile Voting Unit can also be found at the Registrar of Voters webpage — www.co.imperial.ca.us/regvoters.
During normal office hours, the Registrar of Voters’ Office will accept walk-in voters delivering vote-by-mail ballots to their office located on the second floor of the County Administrative Center at 940 W. Main St., El Centro.
Once received, Registrar of Voters officials verify signatures located on the returned vote-by-mail ballot envelopes. At 10 days prior to Election Day, officials begin opening verified envelopes as part of the tallying process. All ballot cards are reviewed for tears, spills, tape, etc. Once verified, officials process each vote-by-mail ballot, counting all votes.
The first round of election results is expected to be released after polls have closed at 8 p.m. on Election Night. These initial results will include all vote-by-mail ballots received before Nov. 3. Any ballots received after this date will be represented in future election reports.
Vote-by-mail voters are encouraged to complete and submit their ballots prior to Nov. 3 to ensure their votes are included in the first round of reporting.