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

Aternate:
David Tom
Phone: (650) 312.5222 E-mail: dtom@smcare.org

Presidential Primary Sample Ballots Begin to Land in Mailboxes Today!
February 5th Primary is only five weeks away

Redwood City, CA – The Sample Ballot & Official Voter Information Pamphlets will be mailed to the 351,351 (+) voters of San Mateo County beginning on Friday, December 28th and concluding the week of January 14th. Every voter will receive their own personal copy for the February 5th Presidential Primary Election. "I want to encourage every voter to take the time to review the material, make your choice and bring your marked Sample Ballot to the polls on Election Day," said Chief Elections Officer Warren Slocum.

The San Mateo County Sample Ballot & Official Voter Information Pamphlet publication contains a sample of the voter's specific ballot with the presidential candidates of their chosen party (American Independent, Democrat, Green, Libertarian, Peace & Freedom, or Republican), and local ballot measures, if their jurisdiction placed a measure before the voters. In California, each political party decides whether they will allow Decline-to-State voters to vote in their party’s primary election. For this election, only the Democratic Party and American Independent Party have chosen to permit Decline-to-State voters to participate in their primary election. Therefore, Decline-to-State Voters, or those voters who are unaffiliated with any political party, will be mailed a sample ballot that contains three ballot versions for their consideration, a nonpartisan sample ballot, a Democratic Party sample ballot and an American Independent Party sample ballot. Today, Decline-to-State voters number 80,352 and are the third largest group of voters in the County.

According to Slocum, the February ballot is a short one, listing only the Federal Candidates, the seven state propositions and a local measure if a voter lives in that particular district. "Even though voters have only a few decisions to make this February, their vote will mark a new direction for America, the state, and their community. Since much is at stake in this Presidential Election Cycle, one of the ways that we help educate voters is by publishing and distributing the Sample Ballot & Official Voter Information Pamphlet to them," Slocum added.

The San Mateo County Sample Ballot & Official Voter Information Pamphlet is available in English, Spanish or Chinese; voters who prefer Chinese or Spanish language election materials may request them at the time they register to vote or at anytime thereafter.

Visually impaired voters can request a copy of the county Sample Ballot & Official Voter Information Guide on audio tape. "As a practice, we make voting as accessible as possible so that everyone has a voice in the democratic process," said Slocum.

In addition to the county's Sample Ballot, many voters should have received the State Voter Information Guide in the mail as well. One State Voter Information Guide will be sent per household. The state typically mails the Voter Information Guide six to eight weeks in advance of the election. The primary components of the guide are the state propositions (title and summary, analysis, arguments for and against and text of the proposed law) and candidate statements for candidates seeking federal office who submitted statements for publication in the guide. The Voter Information Guide is available on the Secretary of State's website at www.voterguide.sos.ca.gov.

If you have any questions regarding the county's Sample Ballot delivery schedule, please call the Elections Division at (650) 312-5222 or email registrar@smcare.org.