It's Election Day: Get out and vote!
Primary election day is here, so remember to get out and vote if you haven't already taken advantage of mail-in voting or early voting opportunities.
According to the Monterey County Elections Office, as of this weekend, a little more than 15% of ballots had been returned.
Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. at different locations around Monterey County.
May 31 was the last day officials recommended returning ballots by mail. But even if you received your vote-by-mail ballot, you can still vote at a polling place on Election Day.
Bring your unused vote-bymail ballot to your local polling place any time between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m. on Election Day and give it to a poll worker, who will exchange it for a polling place ballot you can use instead. If you do not bring your vote-by-mail ballot with you, you will not lose your opportunity to vote at a polling place on Election Day. A poll worker will provide you with a provisional ballot, which will be counted after your county elections official has confirmed you are registered to vote in Monterey County and did not vote more than once in this election.
The Monterey County Elections website has a tool to locate your polling place and provide a voter information guide by entering your street number, street name and ZIP code.
June 7 is the last day to vote and return your ballot. While the last recommended day to return your ballot by mail was last Tuesday, ballots must be postmarked no later than June 7 and received by June 14.
“Voters can return their ballot in person to any voting location or official drop box in California until 8 p.m. on Election Day,” said Gina Martinez, of Monterey County Elections, in an email. “A
list of ballot drop-off locations is available at https:// montereycountyelections. us/ballot-drop-off-locations/. This link also provides an option to find the closest drop box to your current location.”
Martinez said the Monterey County Elections Office encourages the use of ballot return locations in the days leading up to and including Election Day.
“Although we can accept ballots postmarked by Election Day, those ballots must be received no later than 7 days after the election,” said Martinez.
In the primary election, all voters, regardless of political party preference, will see the same candidates for state and federal offices. Voters will be able to vote on local contests as determined by their residential address. As a result of Assembly Bill 37, all active voters received a ballot in the mail and in-person voting opportunities are still available.
According to a story in the Mercury News, California began tinkering with its primary format back in the 1990s to counter trends in party activists electing candidates far to the left or right of most voters. That led to the current “top-two” or “jungle” primary enacted 10 years ago for most partisan races where the two candidates with the most votes advance to November, even if they're from the same party. That happened in 2018 when U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein and fellow Democrat Kevin De Leon were the primary winners.
Election results can be followed on the Monterey County Elections website after the polls have closed. Go to montereyherald.com for election coverage.