Last day to request a vote-by-mail ballot is Oct. 28

The deadline to apply for a vote-by-mail ballot for the Nov. 4 Statewide General Election is Tuesday, Oct. 28.

As of today, more than 73,000 of Santa Cruz County’s 141,394 registered voters have requested to vote by mail. The deadline to register to vote was October 20, and the county elections officials continue to process cards and voter registration numbers have not yet been finalized.

To request a vote-by-mail ballot in Santa Cruz County.

Complete the application that can be found on the back cover of the county’s Sample Ballot and Voter’s Information Pamphlet that has been mailed to voters and either bring it in, fax it to 454-2445 or mail it in by October 28.
Go online to www.votescount.com and fill out the online application
Call the elections department at 454-2060
Vote-by-mail ballot applications are also available at the City Clerk’s Offices in Capitola, Santa Cruz, Scotts Valley, and Watsonville.

Early voting at the County Clerk/Elections Department in Santa Cruz and the Watsonville City Clerk’s Office at 275 Main Street, 4th Floor, continues to be available during regular weekday hours from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The Watsonville City Clerk’s Office is closed on Fridays. In addition to the regular business hours, the offices will offer weekend voting on November 1 and 2, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

To return the ballot by mail, voters must affix a first class postage stamp – postage is 49 cents for the November ballot. Voters who have a green ballot return envelope are not required to pay postage as they were assigned to a mail ballot precinct and did not have the option of going to vote at a polling place.

Instead of mailing the ballot, voters may drop their vote-by-mail ballot in one of two convenient drop boxes: one in Santa Cruz and the other in Watsonville. The drop boxes are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and no postage is required. The vote-by-mail ballot drop box in Santa Cruz is a white mailbox-style receptacle that is located in front of the County Government Center. The vote-by-mail drop box in Watsonville is located in the parking lot behind City Hall and in front of the Police Department on Union Street.

Santa Cruz County voters may also drop their voted ballot off at any polling place in Santa Cruz County on Election Day. A list of polling places can be found online at www.votescount.com.