Shasta County Registrar of Voters Clint Curtis is asking voters to mail in their special election ballot with confidence, but to make sure last minute ballots are stamped by the post office.
That’s after he faced voters’ concerns about ballot security and fears the U.S. Post Office might postmark mailed ballots after Election Day, invalidating them.
Curtis issued an announcement Thursday afternoon, Oct. 9, to address what he said were “concerns that the post office might potentially send the ballots to Sacramento for last minute mailers, thus stamping them for a date after the election.”
That’s not the case, he said in the announcement: “The Post Office makes its best efforts to pull those ballots, and our staff makes a mail run to the post office twice every (week) day” through Nov. 4.
Mailed-in return ballots must have a postmarked date that’s on or before Election Day to be counted, according to the state, and they must arrive at their county elections office no later than seven days later.
Curtis’ announcement came two days after community members voiced concerns about ballot safety and on-time delivery during the public comment period at Tuesday’s Board of Supervisors meeting.
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In rural counties like Shasta, “mail is collected and sent to post office headquarters; for us…in Sacramento,” said community member Steve Woodrum pointed out at the meeting. “That extra travel time means you can drop your ballot off at the post office on the fourth. You think you’ve done everything right. It goes to Sacramento and it’s postmarked on the fifth and your ballot is late, and it’s tossed out,” he said — referring to a statement made by Attorney General Rob Bonta urging Californians to cast ballots early.
“…recent changes in the U.S. Postal mail service mean that your ballot may not be counted if you drop it off at a post office or a USPS mailbox on Election Day,” Bonta said at an Oct. 2 press conference.
For those who want to mail their ballot on Election Day, Bonta urged voters to go to the post office counter on Nov. 4 and request a postmark in person. That way, voters avoid risk postmarking is delayed at a post office hub.
Woodrum criticized the elections office for not addressing Shasta County voters about Bonta’s statement. “Our registrar of voters has said nothing,” he said at Tuesday’s meeting.
In his announcement two days later — like Bonta — Curtis urged voters who prefer to mail their ballot on Election Day to request a hand stamp at the post office, “just like folks do who mail in their taxes at the last-minute.”
People can also cast their ballot between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m. on Nov. 4 at any official Shasta County polling place or drop box, he said.
For a list of polling places go to elections.shastacounty.gov/voter-profile. For more information call 530-225-5730.
Ballots went out in the mail last Monday, according to elections office staff. They started showing up in Shasta County mailboxes by Wednesday.
Jessica Skropanic is a features reporter for the Record Searchlight/USA Today Network. She covers science, arts, social issues and news stories. Follow her on Twitter @RS_JSkropanic and on Facebook. Join Jessica on Record Searchlight Facebook groups Get Out! Nor Cal , Today in Shasta County and Shaping Redding’s Future. To support and sustain this work, please subscribe today. Thank you.
This article originally appeared on Redding Record Searchlight: Shasta County Registrar of Voters tells Election Day mail voters to get postmark in person
Reporting by Jessica Skropanic, Redding Record Searchlight / Redding Record Searchlight
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