Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder-Elections
October 18, 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
Track & Confirm Feature Serves Those Who Vote by Mail
Early voters can confirm receipt of the voted mail ballot
Redwood City, CA – Once voting in the Consolidated Municipal, School and Special District opened on October 8th, San Mateo County’s Chief Elections Officer Warren Slocum activated the County‘s online Track & Confirm feature that enables voters that vote by mail to confirm that the Elections Office received their voted mail ballot.
“We were the first county in America to offer this service to voters,” Slocum said. “In fact, Congresswoman Susan Davis from San Diego County is introducing a federal legislation that will enable every voter in the U.S. to have this option available to them. Why is it so important? It gives voters peace of mind to know that their votes were received,” Slocum explained. “Today, nearly 40% of the voters in the State of California, not just San Mateo County, are voting by mail. Voters ought to be able to confirm when their ballot was received by an Elections Office. “
The state of California now requires all elections offices to provide this service by March of 2008. Slocum “is heartened” to know that it will soon be made available to all California voters.
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, that they were never 100% sure that their ballot was received at the Elections Office 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.”
At the San Mateo County Elections Office, an electronic image of a voter’s current registration card is on file. By scanning the unique barcodes that are printed on each of the return envelopes, the voter registration system will bring up these images to allow a comparison and confirmation of a voter’s signature.
The return envelope for the Vote by Mail ballot requires the voter’s signature; it also includes the bar code associated with their voter registration. At the time a voter’s signature is verified, this application notes the date and time their ballot was received at Elections. That’s how the Elections Office is able to electronically confirm to voters when an absentee ballot was mailed to them and when their voted ballot was received.
Slocum noted that, “The ballot itself is secret. It has no voter related barcode or any identifying voter information. Only the envelope contains this information. Once the signature is verified, the ballot and envelope are separated for processing.”
So how does the Track & Confirm feature work? 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 their voted ballot has been received by the Elections Office, it will confirm receipt of delivery. If not, voters will receive additional guidance.
For those who would like to sign up to vote by mail have until October 30, 2007 to do so for the November 6, 2007 Election. “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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