Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder-Elections
October 12 , 2006
Contact:
Warren Slocum
Chief Elections Officer & Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder
Phone: (650) 363-4988 Fax: (650) 363-1903 E-mail: wslocum@smcare.org
Alternate
David Tom
Phone: (650) 312-5222 E-mail: dtom@smcare.org
Web: www.shapethefuture.org www.smcare.org
Track & Confirm Receipt of Your Voted Absentee Ballot
It’s only a click away!
Redwood City, CA –With the opening of early voting on Tuesday, San Mateo County’s Chief Elections Officer Warren Slocum reminded voters who vote by mail and those who have been thinking about signing up to vote by mail that San Mateo County offers voters an online Track & Confirm feature that allows absentee voters check to see when their voted ballot arrived at the Elections Office. “We believe we were the first county in America to offer this election service to voters,” Slocum said.
The Governor signed legislation authored by Senator Bowen, SB 1725, that will require elections offices in California to provide this service by March of 2008. “I’m heartened to know that this service will be made available to all California voters in time for the Presidential Primary in 2008.”
Slocum implemented the “Track & Confirm” feature in 2005 after a focus group of absentee voters revealed that voting by mail couldn’t be any easier, but they were never 100% sure that their ballot was received at the Elections by Election Day. “That was the motivation to provide this service. FedEx, UPS and USPS all offer their customers a package tracking system,” Slocum explained, “we simply used that model.”
“It was simple enough, and no reason not to provide absentee voters the option to go online to track and confirm that we received their voted ballot,” Slocum said.
“At Elections, we keep an electronic image of the voter’s current registration card on file. By scanning the unique barcodes that are printed on each of the return envelopes, our system will bring up these images to allow us to confirm a voter’s signature quickly,” Slocum explained. “The absentee ballot return envelope requires the voter’s signature; it also includes the bar code associated with their voter registration. At the time their signature is verified, this application notes the date and time their ballot was received at Elections. That’s how we’re able to electronically confirm to voters when an absentee ballot was mailed to them and when we received their voted ballot.”
The ballot itself is secret. It has no voter related barcode nor any identifying voter information. Only the envelope contains this information. Once the signature is verified, the ballot and envelope are separated for processing.
The ballot tracking system works like this: “Voters log on to the Elections website, www.shapethefuture.org, click on the Track & Confirm link and enter their street number, zip code and birth date. If we’ve received their ballot, it will confirm that we have it and show when it was received. If not, they will get additional guidance,” he said.
Voting by mail has become extremely popular, not only in San Mateo County but across the state. In San Mateo County, there are approximately 125,000 permanent absentee voters. That represents approximately 36% of all registered voters (346,776) in the County.
“Recent surveys show that the primary reason somebody doesn’t vote is that they’re “too busy.” It’s also the primary reason that so many people have chosen to vote by mail,” explained Slocum.
“Voting by mail simplifies your life. It is so convenient. Election materials and ballots arrive in the mailbox approximately 30 days before an election. The voter can decide when they want to vote and where. Imagine -- voting at home, at the kitchen table, after the kids have gone to bed or whenever. Voters don’t need to worry about parking, the price of gasoline, traffic, who’s going to watch the kids, bad weather or having to work late,” said Slocum.
“We want people to have as many options as possible and to participate regularly and fully in our democracy,” said Slocum. “Any registered voter can opt to vote by mail. They will need to fill out a very simple application (available on the back of the Sample Ballot or online at www.shapethefuture.org) or write us a letter making that request.
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