Watch the Flash Presentation of the Election Cycle Unfold.

This is an animated file--it's cool--but you will need FlashPlayer to view it. If you don't have this software, click here, and a free version will automatically install on your computer so that you can watch it, or scroll down to see an annotated summary of the Election Cycle.

Phase I – Prepare and Implement

Voter Registration:

The Registration and Elections Office produces and maintains the official voter registration roll of the 350,300+ registered voters in San Mateo County. This must be kept current so that on Election Day, each voter is given a unique ballot that relates to their home address and political districts. If a person changes their name, address or political party, they must re-register to be eligible to vote. The voter registration roll is constantly being updated.

Candidate/Measure Filing:

When a person decides to run for office, there is a formal process they must follow to file and run. The same is true for proponents of a ballot measure. The California elections code sets forth the rules, regulations and procedures that all candidates and campaign committees must follow. The Registration and Elections Office is the official agency that provides election assistance to all candidates and campaigns and administers elections the code.

Ballot/Sample Ballot Preparation:

After the filing period closes and the Registration and Elections Office has determined the eligible local candidates and measures and the Secretary of State’s Office has determined the eligible statewide candidates and propositions, the ballot is created. To help voters make informed choices, both offices publish and mail sample ballot booklets (local and statewide versions) that contains the ballot choices, candidate statements, statewide propositions and local measures and the arguments for and against and rebuttals to those arguments. The 2006 Gubernatorial Primary Election required the preparation of 726 different ballot styles including three different languages.

Supply Assembly and Delivery:

Imagine setting up 472 separate voting sites with staffing needs, voting equipment, and legal procedures and requirements for a single 15 hour work day. Each precinct is outfitted with a specific set of ballots, a roster of eligible voters, signs, voting equipment, telephones, procedures, a myriad of office supplies and a four-person team.

The supply operation distributes and retrieves the polling place supplies and equipment.

Absentee Ballot Operation:

In 2001, the law changed to allow any voter the opportunity to vote by mail. Six years ago, there were less than 4,000 voters who voted by mail on a permanent basis in San Mateo County; today there are more than 125,000 voters (more than a third of all voters) that vote by mail on a permanent basis.  San Mateo County strongly encourages absentee voting because it is convenient for voters and encourages voter participation.

Election operations have changed dramatically with the popularity of absentee voting. By law, official ballots may be mailed to voters who vote by mail on a permanent basis 29 days in advance of the election.

Once the voted ballots are received at the Elections Office, the signature verification process begins. Voter signatures are compared to a digital image of the signature on their registration form. Once verified, the votes can be recorded.

Recruit & Train Poll Workers:

More than 2,300 well-trained poll workers are needed to staff the 472 polling sites on Election Day. Poll workers provide a community service that is fundamental to our democracy. They welcome all voters, facilitate voting, conduct precinct operations in accordance with election law and follow defined procedures. The Registration and Elections Office conducts over 70 training sessions to prepare every poll worker, field tech, poll opening technician and ride-along coordinator for their election day responsibilities. If you are interested in working on the upcoming elections, click here. Many people find it a rewarding experience and return year after year to serve.

Pre-Election Testing:

Rigorous testing of the eSlate voting equipment is done to prepare for an election. Test ballots are used to simulate voting conditions on Election Day. The test ballots are hand-marked, checked, re-checked, and tabulated test ballots that reflect all the possible voting choices for all ballot styles used in an election. By running the pre-marked and tabulated ballots through the 2,200 eSlate voting machines and checking the results against the pre-marked results grid for that ballot style, the test ballot trials determine if the counting and reporting features on each eSlate voting device is working accurately.

Similarly, a Mock Election is held to test Election Day processes and procedures. The simulation tests every process from the close of the polls to the reporting of the results. It is a dress rehearsal for election night staff.

Delivery of Voting Machines:

With 281 separate voting locations, the delivery crew spends the three days prior to an election delivering the voting machines and polling booths to each place. “Chasers” from the Registration and Elections Office follow the delivery trucks to each site to ensure proper setup and security measures are employed.

Delivery of Voting Supplies:

The Saturday before an election, the polling place supply suitcase (on wheels) is delivered to the home of the Election Inspector assigned to each of the 472 polling places. Each box contains 45 particular items (300-1200 ballots, ballot marking pens, signage, the roster of voters, etc.) For security purposes, the Inspector must sign for the supply box.

Phase II – Ballots Cast

San Mateo County uses optical scan “readers” to accumulate the vote totals in each precinct. These “readers,” called Eagle voting machines, record the ballots cast at a specific precinct on Election Day. All optical scan readers are equipped with memory packs that accumulate the votes cast. The readers and memory packs are bar-coded, tracked and delivered to the tabulation center for tabulation and reporting.

If a person voted by mail, the returned ballot would have been fed through the IV-C optical scan reader by the election staff to tabulate the votes. The IV-C is a high-speed, high-volume optical scan ballot reader. Voters that cast their ballot at the Registration and Elections Office locations would also have their ballots read this way.

Phase III – Tabulate

Tabulation does not begin until the polls close at 8:00 pm. Election security is fundamental to the tabulation operation. Results are tabulated on an internal network that is housed in a secure location, monitored by cameras, guarded by Sheriff’s Office personnel and accessible only by authorized cardkey holders.

So, how do votes get to the tabulation center from the polls? When the polls close, poll workers run a paper receipts of the vote totals from their precinct. Memory packs from the optical scan Eagle voting machines in each precinct produce these paper receipts. One paper receipt is posted at the polling site. The other paper receipt accompanies the memory pack to the tabulation center where the memory pack is read and the votes are counted and consolidated with returns from all other precincts, the absentee ballot votes, the early voting conducted at the Universal Voting Centers mail ballot precinct vote counts, and provisional vote counts.

Phase IV – Report

On Election Night, returns or semi-official election results are reported for every race. The vote totals are presented in raw numbers and percentages by contest and number of precincts reporting. Anyone can get the results on-line at www.shapethefuture.org or by requesting them to be provided by phone, fax or email or visiting our offices. The election night reporting schedule is:

Phase V – Validate

Results are considered unofficial until the 28-day canvass is completed and the election results are certified by the County’s Registrar of Voters. During this 28-day canvass, a hand count of not less than 1% of the votes cast in every contest is done to validate the results. When that is complete and results are consistent, the Chief Elections Officer will certify the election, present the certified results in a public meeting before the Board of Supervisors and maintain the official record.