Stamp Saved! Postage Is Pre-Paid For Mail-In Ballots In Santa Cruz County

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY, CA – No postage is necessary this year to vote by mail in Santa Cruz County, county elections officials said.

The 91,000-plus voters in the county simply have to mail their ballot back in the postage paid envelope and be sure it is postmarked no later than Election Day on Nov. 8.

The ballot must be received by Nov. 14 to be counted, according to elections officials.

Money to pay the postage on mail-in ballots was approved this summer by the county's Board of Supervisors.

"Voting is too important to let a stamp (or 2) get in the way," Supervisor Ryan Coonerty said in a statement.

Elections officials want to remind voters that they must sign and date the envelope before sealing their ballot inside. Also, voters must sign their own envelope because the signature must compare to the signature on a
voter's voter registration card.

Rather than mail in the ballot, voters can also drop off their ballot at one of five ballot drop boxes in the county. Those locations are 701 Ocean St. in Santa Cruz, 212 Church St. in Santa Cruz, 1 Civic Center
Drive in Scotts Valley, 420 Capitola Ave. in Capitola and 316 Rodriguez St. in Watsonville.

A sixth drop box will be available soon in Quarry Plaza at the University of California at Santa Cruz.

Voters can also drop their ballot off at the county elections/clerk's office during business hours or drop it off at a polling place on Election Day, according to elections officials.

Ballots are available at the county clerk/elections office at 701 Ocean St., Room 210 in Santa Cruz and at the Watsonville City Clerk's Office at 275 Main St. in Watsonville.

Both offices are open Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and will be open extended hours on Saturday and Sunday Nov. 4 and 5 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Election Day.

The last day to register to vote in the Nov. 8 Presidential election is Oct. 24. Voters can register online at www.registertovote.ca.gov or pick up a registration card at any post office, library, city hall or
county elections office.

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--Bay City News/Image courtesy of USPS