(Redwood City) – Voters in the Redwood City School District will participate in a rare all-mail ballot election this spring to determine the fate of a parcel tax measure put forth by the school board. “All-mail elections are rare,” stated Warren Slocum, San Mateo County’s Chief Elections Officer, “but the mail ballot process is simply an expansion of absentee voting, a process we are very practiced at administering.” In the November 2004 Presidential Election, the Elections Division processed over 118,000 absentee ballots.

Beginning on April 4th, voters who reside in the Redwood City School District will receive their official ballot and voter information pamphlet in a single envelope. “Be on the lookout!” Slocum advised. “We know voters get a lot of junk mail, so additional measures will be taken to make the ballot envelope more conspicuous to prevent ballots from being overlooked in the mail.”

In the event that a ballot is misplaced, spoiled, or accidentally discarded, voters may obtain a replacement ballot by mailing or faxing a written request to the Elections Division with their name, mailing address, residence address, date of birth, and signature.

The first major deadline for the May 3, 2005 election is the submission of Primary Arguments For and Against the Ballot Measure. Arguments must be submitted at the Elections Division at 40 Tower Road in San Mateo by 5:00 p.m. on February 11, 2005.

Slocum also announced the opening of the 10-calendar-day public review period for documents submitted to the Elections Division as of the 88th day prior to the May 3, 2005 All-Mail Ballot Election. The review period runs from Friday, February 4th at 5:00 p.m. through Monday, February 14th at 5:00 p.m.

For more information on the public review period or the requirements for drafting and submitting a Primary or Rebuttal argument, please contact the Elections Division at (650) 312-5222 or visit www.shapethefuture.org.