Election Day is Tuesday and while thousands of ballots have already been submitted, there are many more people left to cast their vote.
More than 120,000 vote-by-mail ballots were issued to San Luis Obispo County voters for the June 5 Primary Election. As of Monday morning, 38,000 of those ballots have been received.
“I voted yesterday and I wanted to make sure that it got recorded so I didn’t want to put it in the mail, so I drove here," said Greg Bryant, San Luis Obispo resident. "It’s easy, you just run in and drop it off and you can get out really fast.”
Vote-by-mail ballots can be dropped off on Election Day at any polling place or you take it to the post office, but be sure it includes a circle date stamp.
For those who wish to vote in person, there are 69 different polling locations in San Luis Obispo County and 84 in Santa Barbara County.
All locations will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday.
“Voters who want to go to the polling place, they can go check their sample ballot which we sent them; it has the assignment of the polling place that they should be going to on Election Day,” said Tommy Gong, San Luis Obispo County Clerk-Recorder.
To make the voting experience faster, voters are urged to avoid visiting the polls during busy hours, which are early in the morning, during lunch and in the evening.
Voters are also urged to pre-mark their sample ballot.
“And so when they are given their ballot, then they go to their voting booth, they are able to make those marks by just following what they marked on their sample ballot,” Gong said.
The county clerk-recorder’s office has begun counting all of the ballots turned in before Election Day, but the results won’t be released until the polls close at 8 p.m. on election night.
If you haven’t done so already, read up on the state and local races and double-check your polling location. You can look up your polling place, in San Luis Obispo County and Santa Barbara.
Those who missed the deadline to register to vote or who have recently moved can still register by filling out a conditional voter registration form. It must be done in person at an elections office.
