San Mateo County Press Release

Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder-Elections

Contact:
Warren Slocum
Chief Elections Officer & Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder
Phone: (650) 363-4988 Fax: (650) 363-1903 E-mail: wslocum@smcare.org
Web: www.shapethefuture.org www.smcare.org

Alternate: David Tom, Phone: 650.312.5222 E-mail: dtom@smcare.org

San Mateo County Opens Seven Universal Voting Centers Today

Ribbon-Cutting in East Palo Universal Voting Center at 2:00pm
Vote Anywhere. Vote Early. Vote Accessibly.

(Redwood City, CA)  For the June 6, 2006 Gubernatorial Primary, the San Mateo County Elections Office is piloting a new voter services program called Universal Voting Centers (UVC). Today, San Mateo County will open seven Universal Voting Centers located throughout the county; the Centers will be open through June 5th.

Secretary of State Bruce McPherson, San Mateo County Supervisor Rose Jacobs Gibson, Mayor Ruben Abrica, Chief Elections Officer Warren Slocum, Frank Welte, Vice President of the Council of the Blind, and Craig McCulloh of the Commission on Disabilities, and numerous representatives from disability groups and community agencies will be on hand for a Ribbon-Cutting at 2:00 pm today at the East Palo Alto Civic Center, 2415 University Ave., East Palo Alto. The Help America Vote Act (HAVA) guarantees that voters with disabilities be able to cast their ballot independently and in secret, as every other registered American voter does.

“I applaud the efforts of San Mateo County Chief Elections Officer Warren Slocum and his team for working hard on behalf of the voters of your community to provide accessible early voting at Universal Voting Centers,” said Secretary of State Bruce McPherson.  “Every voter, including voters with disabilities, should have the ability to cast their ballot privately and independently.”

Frank Welte said, “I’ve been waiting for this day for a long time.  It’s finally arrived!”  Welte intends to cast his vote in the upcoming June Gubernatorial Primary Election today, as do other members of the disabled community.

San Mateo County is renting the accessible e-Slate voting device, manufactured by Hart Intercivic of Austin, Texas, to serve voters with disabilities, and comply with HAVA.  However, any voter may vote on the new system.  The accessibility features of the e-Slates include audio headphones to hear the ballot choices, visual enhancements (screen contrast, font size, Braille labeled navigation keys), low height for wheelchairs and regular chairs, tactile buttons for those with mobility impairments and the devices support sip and puff capability used by paraplegics, like the late Christopher Reeve, to navigate their wheel chair.  In addition to voting on the e-Slates, voters may also drop off their voted Absentee Ballot as well. 

“Accessible eSlates makes it possible for any voter to vote early at any UVC location in the County,” explained Warren Slocum, Chief Elections Officer for San Mateo County. The HAVA compliant eSlate voting devices also feature a voter verifiable paper confirmation of ballot choices and they deliver ballots in English, Chinese or Spanish, meeting the terms of the federal Voting Rights Act that mandates language accessibility.

“The last time we purchased a new voting system was 1992.  That system was based on the best technology available at the time.  The technology embedded in the new voting equipment makes it possible to support ‘anywhere’ voting,” said Slocum.

What that means is that the new voting equipment has the capability of storing and compiling the precinct information, partisan ballot choices for a primary, alternate languages choices and ballot contests from a master ballot.  It can provide any registered voter, of any partisan affiliation, including non-partisan, residing in any precinct, requiring any language, to get their specific ballot during the 29 days prior to the election and vote.  Technology advances made since 1992 make this possible and may ultimately change the way we vote in the future.

“For example, voters who work in Redwood City and live in San Mateo can vote near their workplace—in the morning, on their lunch hour, or after work.” asked Slocum.  “The process of participation in our democracy just became more convenient for voters,” said Slocum. 

All UVCs are secure, accessible and centrally located. Election professionals will staff the Centers during convenient morning, evening, afternoon and Saturday hours. Check the schedule inside or visit our website at shapethefuture.org or call 1 (888) SMC-VOTE.