Election energy grows
S.J. registrar of voters sees surge in involvement
There has been a surge of volunteers looking to get involved and make sure this year’s election is a success, according to Melinda Dubroff, San Joaquin County’s registrar of voters.
“The interest from the public in participating as election officers at the poles has greatly increased this election compared to the June election,” Dubroff said on Thursday, less than two weeks away from the Nov. 6 general election.
Approximately 600 high school students have been assigned to work at the poles on Election Day, and another 1,400 volunteers will be serving as inspectors, field inspectors and clerks.
“People are very interested in working at the polls and making sure that voters are able to cast their ballot,” Dubroff said.
“We see an above average interest from the public in all areas including voter registration, vote by mail, ballot requests from voters and calls and emails from the public.”
For the first time, the registrar of voters office has had to create a phone bank to handle calls from people wanting to serve at the polls.
In the June primary, the office set up official ballot drop boxes at each of the seven city halls in the county. Approximately 4,000 ballots were returned over the course of the vote-by-mail period for the primary, and that number is expected to rise in the coming election.
The registrar is now expanding the drop-off locations throughout the county on the four days prior to Election Day. On the Friday and Monday before the election there will be a drop-off at Lodi’s Hutchins Street Square, 125 S. Hutchins St., from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. On the Saturday an Sunday before the election there will be drop-offs at 11 locations throughout the county, including the Lodi Grape Festival on Saturday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and on Sunday at Lockeford Elementary School from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
“This will be a way for people to return their vote-bymail ballots directly to an election official with no postage necessary, Dubroff said. “There’s so much interest we just want to make it’s easy for people to drop off their voting ballots.”
As voters prepare for the upcoming election Dubroff advises them to take their time making their decisions and to do their research. She recommends that voters read the county’s sample ballot and voter information pamphlet as well as the California Voter Information Guide and visit the registrar of voters website at www.sjcrov.org to find out about the issues on the ballot, where to drop off ballots and where to go on Election Day.
Dubroff would like to remind the public that it is not too late to participate in this year’s election. Eligible voters that missed Monday’s voter registration deadline can still visit the registrar of voters office and register and vote under conditional voter registration.