Election officials are inviting community members to observe ballot processing activities ahead of Election Day, specifically those related to mail-in ballots.
The San Mateo County Registration and Elections Division began opening and processing Vote-By-Mail ballots on Oct. 14, according to a news release from the office of Mark Church, chief elections officer & assessor-county clerk-recorder. The process is allowed to begin 29 business days before election day.
Although ballots are opened and processed, scanned ballots will not be counted or reported until the close of voting at 8 p.m. on Nov. 8.
Members of the public are welcome to observe the ballot-processing activities. Ballot processing is being conducted daily, Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Interested parties are invited to stop by the Registration and Elections Division office anytime, located at 40 Tower Road in San Mateo. Attendees will be provided with a copy of the Election Observer Program Guidelines, which specifies observer rights, responsibilities and limitations.
Organizers warn that space is limited, and there may be a wait. However, time-specific appointments can be made online by sending an email to ElectionOberserver@smcacre.org. For all other questions, contact Jim Irizarry, assistant chief elections officer and assistant assessor-clerk-recorder at jirizarry@smcacre.org.
