Campaign 2012: Ballots hit mailboxes

Election time is already here, as the mailing of absentee or vote-by-mail ballots begins this month, so people can return them in time for the Nov. 6 general election.

Secretary of State Debra Bowen said ballots will be going out this week in counties across the state.

In Colusa County, Clerk-Recorder Kathleen Moran said vote-by-mail ballots were sent out Tuesday and should be arriving in mailboxes soon for those with permanent mail-vote status or the four vote-by-mail precincts in Colusa County. She said on Thursday about 45 percent of registered voters vote by mail in Colusa County, for just under 3,000.

This does not include voters currently requesting vote-by-mail ballots, Moran added.

Sample ballots also are out in Colusa County as well.

Online registration is becoming more common now, according to Moran.

Her office has received 200 online registrations recently with people updating their registrations or applying for new ones.

"That is phenomenal for Colusa County," Moran said.

The last day to register for this election is Oct. 22.

Officials said Oct. 30 is the last day to request an absentee or vote-by-mail ballot.

People who have been registered to vote in the past or registered through the California Department of Motor Vehicles can easily register online, Moran said.

Now her office is waiting for people to mail back their ballots and is finalizing polling place staffing and training.

Students from Maxwell and Williams high schools will be staffing polling places Nov. 6, with some returning from June election service.

They must prequalify by having high grade-point averages and by meeting other requirements.

Moran recommends people visit the county's website at www.countyofcolusa.org. for more information.

The website allows people to check their registration status, if the elections office has received their mail-in ballot, or to find their polling place.

If they cannot find out what they need online, voters are always welcome to call Moran's office at 458-0500.

"We are glad to take calls,'' she said. People also may come to the elections office and vote there if needed.

In Glenn County, the ballots will be mailed this week and should be in most voters' mail boxes by Monday, according to Assistant Clerk-Recorder Susan Alves.

More than half of Glenn County's voters vote by mail, according to Lisa Teeter with the elections department.

About 65 percent of Glenn's 12,000 plus voters vote this way, according to Teeter.

Foothill districts like Elk Creek have been voting by mail for a few years now because it is easier than trying to set up polling places in a small community.

However, Willows will have four precincts with polling places in the city limits and Orland will have six, Teeter said.

The unincorporated areas have 24 precincts, with polling places in some rural communities.

"We are lucky in that we usually get the same people who've done it for years to handle the polling places," Teeter said. "They are a good group of ladies and men."

An average of 20 voter registration cards have been coming in each day, Teeter said. "Glenn County is pretty small, so we average half that on a normal day."

With that in mind, it appears voter activity is up for this election.

Alves also mentioned that Glenn County has mailed a "Sample Ballot" book to all voters this year — even those who regularly vote by mail.

Most of the mail voters are on permanent vote-by-mail status, she said, so they do not have to request a mail-in ballot.

These requests are routinely listed on the back of the sample ballot, and have caused confusion for some not used to getting a sample ballot mailed separately, Alves said.

In the past, it was mailed with the ballot in Glenn County.

For more information, call 934-6414 or visit Glenn County's website at www.countyofglenn.net.