Courtesy of Marin County

Voting for the November 8 General Election is under way in Marin County.

Ballots were mailed starting Oct. 10, and early voting started that day at the Elections Department at the Marin County Civic Center in San Rafael. Several official ballot drop boxes open around the county were available as of Oct. 11.

Registrar of Voters Lynda Roberts said the first voter guides were mailed about a week later than normal, but all were in the mail by Wednesday, Oct. 19, and accessible online through the Voter Information Portal at marinvotes.org.

“We have 87 different ballot types for this election, more than double the number we had in the November 2020 general election, and creating the voter guides took about a week longer than expected, including translation to Spanish,” Roberts said.

In some cases, ballots arrived in mailboxes before the voter guides, which prompted phone calls to the Elections Department. “For those wanting to vote right away, we were happy to send them another guide,” Roberts added. “We also let voters know about accessing the guide online.”

Election laws changed a few years ago requiring local elections for cities, towns, schools and special districts to be consolidated with statewide elections to increase voter turnout. That change means more races are on the general election ballot. As it does after all elections, the Elections staff will conduct an after-action report to ensure voters in the future receive their voter guides at the same time or before they receive their ballots.

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Roberts asks voters to be aware of the recent change from Election Day polling places to multi-day vote centers. Voters are no longer assigned to one location and, when needing or wanting in-person services, voters may go to any of the 20 vote centers in Marin County.

The full list of vote centers with days and hours of operation is posted on the Elections Department website at marinvotes.org. The list is also published in the voter information guide.

Roberts also asks voters to keep these key dates in mind.

Oct. 25: Starting on this day and until 8 p.m. Election Day, eligible residents who are not registered must go to a vote center to register and vote. Check online for locations and dates and hours of operation.

Oct. 29: Four vote centers will be open in Marin this Saturday. Check online for locations and dates and hours of operation.

Nov. 1: The last day the Elections Department can mail a ballot. After this day, voters must get a ballot in person at any vote center.

Nov. 5: All 20 vote centers will be open through 8 p.m. Election Day. Check online for locations and dates and hours of operation.

Nov. 8: Election Day. All vote centers will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Ballot return envelope must be signed and postmarked on or before this day or dropped in an official ballot drop box or at any vote center by 8 p.m. Check marinvotes.org for locations.

A voter unable to return their vote-by-mail ballot may designate someone to return it for them by filling out the short form at the top of the ballot return envelope, signature side. Those ballots must be returned within 72 hours. Voters may call the Elections Department at (415) 473-6456 if they have questions or concerns.

“I strongly encourage voters to only designate someone they know and trust,” Roberts said.

Roberts reminds voters to sign their return envelope or the Elections Department cannot process the ballot. Voters will receive a letter if their signature is missing or doesn’t compare with their voter registration form so they can fix the problem. Voters should complete and return the letter right away so the staff can process the ballot.

Follow the Elections Department on Facebook.

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