Election Observers Welcome
We pride ourselves on running accurate, secure, transparent, and accessible elections. If you would like to come and observe any of our elections processes for the March 3, 2020 Presidential Primary Election, please let us know. Below are the activities and approximate timeframes:
Vote-by-Mail Ballot Mailings – We have contracted with K&H to print and mail ballots to our 112,996 permanent vote-by-mail voters and our additional 1,160 voters who have been assigned to an all mail ballot precinct. Ballots will begin to be mailed from the San Jose Post Office on Tuesday, February 3, 2020. Mailing ballots to voters who request one will continue daily until the deadline February 25.
Mailing and emailing of our military and overseas ballots to 1,258 voters began on January 3 which was 60 days before the March election and the first day allowed by law to mail ballots to military and overseas voters. All currently registered military and overseas voters’ ballots must be sent by Saturday, January 18.
When vote-by-mail ballots are returned, ballots will be keyed in as received and signatures verified. If signatures do not compare or a signature is missing, efforts will be made to contact the voter. There is a letter posted on our website for voters to complete to cure their signature. Location: County Clerk/Elections Department, 701 Ocean St., Room 310, Santa Cruz.
Vote-by-Mail Ballot Processing –Elections Code §15101 allows election officials to begin processing vote-by-mail ballots 10 business days prior to the election. Activities include: opening ballot envelopes, removing ballots, duplicating damaged ballots, and preparing the ballots to be counted. We plan to begin processing vote-by-mail ballots this week. Location: County Clerk/Elections Department, 701 Ocean St., Room 310, Santa Cruz.
Early voting and Conditional “Same Day” Registration – Voters can pick up a vote-by-mail ballot at the Santa Cruz County Elections Office and Watsonville City Clerk’s Office. Both offices will operate as a “Same Day” Voter Registration Center. Voters who missed the February 18 deadline to register may register and vote up to and including Election Day. This service will be expanded to 8 additional locations starting Saturday, February 29. Hours are: Saturday & Sunday, February 29 & March 1, 9am to 5pm; Monday, March 2, 8am to 5pm; Tuesday, March 3, 7am to 8pm.
Locations are:
• Simpkins Family Swim Center – 979 17th Ave, Santa Cruz
• UCSC Bay Tree Conference Center – Quarry Plaza
• Capitola City Hall – Community Room, 420 Capitola Ave, Capitola
• Community Foundation – 7807 Soquel Dr, Aptos
• Santa Cruz County Behavioral Health – 1430 Freedom Blvd, Watsonville
• Pajaro Valley Community Conference Room – 85 Neilson St, Watsonville
• Scotts Valley Skypark Classroom – 361 Kings Village Rd, Scotts Valley
• Zayante Fire Protection District – 7700 E. Zayante Rd, Felton
Voters may also go to a polling place on Tuesday, March 3, 7am to 8pm and register and vote there. It is recommended that they go to the polling place for their current address so they will get a ballot containing all of the contests they are eligible to vote.
Voting in the Primary – party matters! - Under a new law signed by the Governor on February 13, voters may change their political party at the polls without having to re-register to vote. They will simply fill out a short form indicating their new party of registration, and they will be allowed to vote a regular ballot.
Since a voter’s political party registration will determine which Presidential Primary ballot they can vote, simplifying party changes at the polls will be very helpful.
Voters who are registered as No Party Preference (aka, nonpartisan, decline to state, independent) will be offered the option of voting one of four ballots:
- Democratic
- American Independent
- Libertarian or
- A ballot without the office of president
NPP voters who are voting by mail and received a ballot without the office of president who wish to get a replacement ballot for one of the parties above, may do so by calling or emailing our office or completing a form on our website. Or they can surrender their ballot at their polling place and get the ballot of their choice.
Logic and Accuracy Testing of the Dominion Democracy Suite ICX tablet ballot marking devices – Activities will begin the week of Monday, February 10 and continue for one week. Please call for exact times and dates as it is subject to change. Location for ICX tablet testing: County Clerk/Elections Operations Center, 2809 Mission St., Santa Cruz. Contact Emma Gordon at 831-454-3020. The Operations Center is a locked facility and observers must call 831-454-3020 or 831-454-3021 to gain access.
Logic and Accuracy Testing of the Dominion Democracy Suite Image Cast scanners – Activities will begin the week of February 10. Vote-by-mail ballot tabulation will most likely begin on Friday, February 28. Vote-by-mail ballots are scanned, but totals are not released until after the polls close at 8pm, Tuesday, March 3. Please call for exact times and dates as it is subject to change. Location: County Clerk/Elections Department, 701 Ocean St., Room 310, Santa Cruz.
Election Officer Training Classes – Classes began this month and will continue through next weekend. Please check our website at www.votescount.com for schedules.
Election Day – A list of polling sites is posted on the Elections website at www.votescount.com. Polling places are open Tuesday, March 3, from 7am to 8pm on Election Day. Anyone is allowed to observe any procedure at the polls (except as to how someone voted). Persons are permitted to observe voting but MUST NOT INTERFERE with the duties of the Elections Officers. They may not handle official ballots or intrude upon the voting process. There will be a Public Alpha Index at the polls that will be updated during the day as to who has voted. Poll checkers may view that index to see who has voted.
Election Night Procedures and Ballot Counting – After the polls close, results from the vote-by-mail ballots will be released at the office and online at www.votescount.com. Election officials who have worked the polls will bring their voting equipment, indexes, and voted ballots from the polls to one of four return centers located in the county. All ballots will be brought to the County Government Center on Election Night for the votes to be tallied. Our plan is to release four vote count reports on Election Night:
- 1st Report – will be released by 8:30pm and will include the vote-by-mail ballots that have been returned and processed prior to Election Day.
- 2nd Report – around 11pm will include some results from the polls.
- 3rd Report – after midnight will include more precinct results.
- Final Semi-Official Report – will be released as soon as all precincts are in and tallied. Could be 2am or later. There will be a number of outstanding ballots to be counted during the canvass: provisional, remaining vote-by-mail ballots, damaged ballots, ballots that need to be duplicated, etc. The semi-official results will be available in hardcopy at the office and online at www.votescount.com. Location: County Clerk/Elections Department, 701 Ocean St., Room 310, Santa Cruz
The Official Canvass will begin Wednesday, March 4. The canvass includes processing all remaining ballots, researching provisional ballots and same day voter registration ballots, auditing the polls, and conducting a 1% manual tally of the paper ballots. random drawing of the precincts subject to the 1% manual tally will take place at 10am, Thursday, March 5. Location: County Clerk/Elections Department, 701 Ocean St., Room 310, Santa Cruz.
Certified Vote. Pursuant to Elections Code §15375c, the elections official shall prepare a certified statement of the results of the election within 28 days of the election which is falls on a holiday, Tuesday, March 31, so it is moved to the next business day, Wednesday, April 1. Location: County Clerk/Elections Department, 701 Ocean St., Room 310, Santa Cruz.
Observers will be provided with the information they need to participate in any and all of these activities. We would appreciate your feedback on processes you observe. We will provide you with a form to provide feedback, or you may provide your own written or verbal feedback.
If you would like to be an election observer, please notify: