The deadline to register to vote is May 21 at midnight. Click here for more information.
SACRAMENTO — The June primary election is less than three weeks away, but voting is already underway in Sacramento County — and there are some major changes for voters.
If you live in Sacramento County, you probably have already noticed one of them. You should have already received a ballot in the mail whether you asked for one or not.
The county says a record number of ballots are being returned.
“More vote by mail ballot returns in the first week and a half since ballots were mailed out than I’ve seen in any previous election in Sacramento County,” Interim Registrar Alice Jarboe said.
Voters have the option of dropping their ballot in one of 53 drop boxes located across the county, or they can simply put them in the mail. Either way, they all end up at the Sacramento County Voter Registration and Elections Office.
For those who prefer to vote in person, another change is the transition from polling places to voter centers — locations were people can vote in a traditional booth or use the new voting machines.
“A vote center offers more days and more choices on how you want to vote,” Jarboe said. “Vote centers also will be open June 2nd. Eighteen of those will be open earlier on May 26th.”
The elections office opened their call center weeks early, anticipating a flood of questions. They’ve gotten 900 calls in nine days.
“I’m anticipating a big turnout for this election for a couple of reasons. There’s a lot of unrest in the political candidate world so that makes voter turnout go up but also we’ve done so much voter education,” Jarboe told FOX40.
The deadline to register to vote statewide is Monday.
If you live outside Sacramento County, be sure to check with your county’s registrar to see where to vote.
