Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder-Elections
September 6 , 2007
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
Write-In Candidate Filing Opens September 10th
(Redwood City, CA) Warren Slocum, San Mateo County’s Chief Elections Officer, announced the Monday opening of the filing period for write-in candidates for offices in the November 6, 2007 Election.
Eligible persons desiring to declare write-in candidacy for local school district and special district offices may file nomination documents with the Elections Office at 40 Tower Road, San Mateo, between 8:00 a.m., September 10, 2007 and 5:00 p.m. on October 23, 2007. Please contact the Filing Officer, Steve Dennison at (650) 312-5370 or sdennison@smcare.org to schedule an appointment.
Those interested in becoming a write-in candidate for elective city offices must file their nomination documents with the City Clerk within the same time frame.
According to Slocum, “Write-in candidates have been part of American election history since the early 1800s.” Douglas W. Jones’ website, Illustrated Voting Machine History, shows a photo of a ballot
used in the 1839 Iowa territorial election. The congressional candidate’s name is preprinted on the ballot and includes write-in blanks for all of the other offices in the election, the territorial house of
representatives and various county offices. The printer omitted the office of Sheriff from the ballot, so the voter wrote both the office and the candidate’s name at the very bottom. (If you would like to see
the 1839 ballot, go to this website - www.cs.uiowa.edu/~jones/voting/pictures/#ballota )
Slocum went on to say, “This year, voting on the electronic voting devices for a write-in candidate will be a brand new experience for voters. Those voting for write-in candidates on the eSlates will highlight the write-in box in the contest list and press enter. That will bring up a “keyboard” screen where voters are prompted to spell out, letter by letter, the write-in candidate’s name using the select wheel and enter key. When a voter has finished entering the name, the eSlate prints the name of their write-in choice on the paper trail along with all of their other choices. It’s official and very easy to read and review.”
Write-in candidates must be voters in the district or political subdivision in which they are to be voted on. No fee or charge shall be required of a write-in candidate except in the case of a candidate for city office, as provided in Section 10228 of the California Election Code. Write-in candidacy is available for the elections to be held in the following school districts and special districts and municipalities located in San Mateo County, State of California:
School Districts:
Belmont-Redwood Shores School District
Jefferson School District
Millbrae School District
Portola Valley School District
San Bruno Park School District
San Carlos School District
San Mateo-Foster City School District
San Mateo Union High School District
Special Districts:
Half Moon Bay Fire District
Menlo Park Fire District
Point Montara Fire District
Broadmoor Police District
Montara Sanitary District
Coastside Water District
Los Trancos Water District
MidCoast Community Council
Municipalities:
City of Belmont
City of Brisbane
City of Burlingame
City of Foster City
City of Millbrae
City of Redwood City
City of San Bruno
City of San Carlos
City of San Mateo
City of South San Francisco
Town of Woodside
A Candidate’s Guide for write-in candidates and general information about the Uniform District Election to be held on November 6, 2007, is available online at the San Mateo County Elections Web site at www.shapethefuture.org or by calling 650-312-5222.
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