Registrar of Voters: Election will be safe, secure as more Solanoans opt for mailed ballots
At a press conference Wednesday, he told White House reporters that he The Solano County Regiswould be re- elected if all trar of Voters is abuzz with the mail-in ballots were not activity as the Nov. 3 Eleccounted. tion Day apBut Gardner said the 2020 proaches. election in Solano County
Assistant would be secure and accuRegistrar of rate as it has been since the Voters John Registrar began offering the Gardner on vote-by-mail option 15 years Thursday acago. If a ballot appears to knowledged have an error, then “voters in an email are contacted to try to cure that area resissues with the envelope (sigidents may nature mismatch, etc.),” he have recently received a said and added, “Typically, postcard about the pending all errors are corrected durelection from his office, but ing the voting period and it was “informational only.” less than 1 percent (of those
For those wondering when identified with an issue) cantheir ballots will be mailed, not be counted.” it will be “during the last To help with the ballot week of September,” he told counting, Gardner and RegThe Reporter. He said voters istrar of Voters Tim Flanashould receive their ballots gan have hired 70 part-time by Oct. 5, the first day voters employees and more than can drop off their ballots at 1,500 poll workers, each of the Registrar in the County them paid for their services. Government Center in Fair“This is about 20 percent field or at any of the 15 dropmore than necessary, so we off locations listed at https:// are in great shape, but still bit.ly/3cvMKhw. taking applications,” he said,
Gardner’s office expects adding that anyone interto mail more than 251,000 ested in applying can do so ballots in the coming days, online at www.solanocounty. and he also anticipates and com/elections, then click on is preparing for “a very high the red button labeled “poll turnout,” he said. workers.”
With less than six weeks For those who intend to until Election Day, President vote in person on Nov. 3 Trump has recently — and (the polls open at 7 a.m. and more than once — cast doubt close at 8 p.m.), voter guides on election security and the mailed in advance typically validity of mail-in ballots, list the address of the voteven though he votes by aber’s polling station. For Sosentee ballot and has for lano County, they can be some time. viewed online at https://bit. ly/3j36ewe.
Voting in person in 2020 will look like no other recent American election as the pandemic continues. Expect a limited number of people allowed into a polling station, the practicing of social distancing and a mask requirement. Voters also can expect to see hand sanitizer available and poll workers disinfecting polling booths.
Additionally, poll workers may provide a disposable black marking pen. If you bring your own pen, make sure it has blue or black ink, said Gardner. When filling out a ballot, make sure you completely fill in the bubble.
For those who prefer to drop off their ballots at a curbside collection point, those locations can be found online at https://bit. ly/2RX7GEG.
Referring to Trump’s recent comments about election security and mail-in ballots, Gardner said the president may be talking about voting procedures “back East, where there isn’t a lot of vote by mail” as opposed to voting practices in numerous Western states that are accustomed to it.
The vote-by-mail option has been increasingly popular in recent years in Solano County, noted Gardner, citing 75 percent of 2018 ballots were received by mail, with the March 2020 count reaching 80 percent.
“The numbers are going up,” he said. “We’ve been doing this since 2005 and we’ve kind of honed in on doing most of our elections by mail and less by in-person.”
“The elections are no less secure or less valid than they were in the past,” continued Gardner. “This is our normal mode of operations for elections.”
The Registrar has a “tiered” process to check of the security of vote-by-mail ballots, he added. Employees check the envelope, the signature, the eligibility, “and the contents of the envelope — is this the envelope and is this an official ballot that we sent you?” he explained.
“The other part is transparency,” said Gardner. “Our office is open for anyone to observe how we operate.”
Additionally, the Registrar boasts “an audit ability,” he said.
If a voter signs up to receive text messages, they will get alerts about the status of their ballot, from its mailing to receiving to it being counted or not counted. And any voter can check on their ballot status by going online to voterstatus. sos. ca.gov at any time.
The Solano County Registrar of Voters is in the County Government Center, 675 Texas St., Fairfield. Hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, call 784- 6675 or 888933-VOTE (8683), or visit w w w. solanocount y. gov/ depts/rov.