SAN DIEGO COUNTY, Calif. — The polls open in two days for the recall election. Mail ballot and in-person voting at the Registrar of Voters is already underway in San Diego County.
The interim Registrar, Cynthia Paes, says they’ve already received 700,000 of the 1.96 million ballots mailed to registered voters.
Long gone are the paper ballots, for the first time all San Diego County in-person voters, no matter the location, will cast their ballot on the same machine called a touchscreen Ballot Marking Device (BMD).
In the election, there are only two questions on the ballot, you select yes or no to recall Newsom and if he is recalled what candidate should take office?
The BMD will prompt you if you need to make any corrections before printing the ballot. If you print and find that you made a mistake, you can re-cast your ballot on location. The original ballot is considered spoiled and not counted.
“We have a paper trail for every ballot that is counted in this election,” said Paes.
Voter confidence is important for the steady stream of voters at the Registrar on Thursday.
“It does not store your vote, it does not count your vote, or voter information,” said Paes.
If you want to head to the polls, for the first time there are not voter assigned polling sites. Instead, there are 221 polling locations that you can choose to vote at your convenience. Polling sites open from Saturday, Sept. 11 to Tuesday, Sept. 14.
You can also mail your ballot, it just needs to be postmarked on or before election day, Sept. 14.
Jeffrey Anderson is sending his in at the Registrar but there are also an additional 131 drop-off locations across the county.
“With everything going on right now it is important that this is received and counted,” said Jeffrey Anderson, registered voter.
Michael Polakoff says he feels more secure voting in person at the Registrar.
“I like doing it in person to make sure that it actually ends up where it is supposed to be. To make sure my vote counts,” said Polakoff.
His wife says she’s never voted by mail.
“I've always come in person, I'm old school,” said Sue Polakoff.
You can also track your ballot and received a text message when your ballot is received and counted.
No matter how you vote, San Diegans say they want their vote counted.
“Making your voice heard. It's a very interesting opportunity to vote in a recall election,” said Anderson.
For a voter guide to the September 14 Gubernatorial election click here.
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