San Rafael, CA – The general election is just seven days away and Marin County voters in the November 8 General Election will be interested in the first returns on election night, which will be posted on the County’s election results webpage shortly after 8 p.m.
Staff members at the Elections Department are busy processing vote-by-mail results.Ballots from vote centers cast during the early voting period and vote-by-mail ballots counted up to that point will be included in the first report. As ballots are returned from vote centers and counted throughout the night at the Marin County Civic Center in San Rafael, results will be updated about every 60 minutes.
Registrar of Voters Lynda Roberts said that so far turnout is nearly 18%, which is 8% higher than the turnout was seven days prior to the June 2022 primary. Her staff is prepared for a steady flow of vote-by-mail ballots now that Election Day is much closer. Also, she is appealing to voters to make sure their ballot counts by getting it in the mail several days before Election Day so it is postmarked on time.
“I can’t stress this point strongly enough: Don’t wait,” Roberts said. “We often can’t count a ballot because it isn’t postmarked by Election Day or we receive the ballot after the seven-day grace period.”
Instead of mailing, voters may drop their ballot at one of several official drop boxes located throughout the county or at any vote center before 8 p.m. on Election Day. Again, Roberts encourages voters not to wait until the last minute to return their ballot because vote centers and drop boxes close precisely at 8 p.m. November 8. The list of locations is printed in the voter information guide and is on www.marinvotes.org.
Voters can track their ballot by signing up for Where’s My Ballot on the Secretary of State’s website. This is a free service.
Vote-by-mail ballots dropped off at vote centers and official ballot drop boxes in the days just prior to Election Day will be processed following the election. Roberts reminds voters to sign the return envelope so ballots can be processed quickly. But if voters forget, the Elections Department will send a letter with instructions for fixing the problem. Voters will also receive a letter if a signature does not compare to the signature on their voter registration card.
A voter unable to return a vote-by-mail ballot may designate someone to return it for them by filling out the form on the back of the return envelope.
“I strongly encourage voters to only designate someone they know and trust,” Roberts said.
Voters may call (415) 473-6456 with questions or concerns, including if a voter isn’t sure if they are registered to vote but plan to vote in this election. The Voter Information Portal includes a way to find out, too.
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