Registrar makes it easy for eligible voters to vote
Santa Clara County voters may vote early for the March 2 election during the next two weekends.
Weekend voting will be available to all registered voters Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 21-22, and again on Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 28-29, from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. at the Registrar of Voters’ office, 1555 Berger Drive, Building 2, San Jose.
Weekend voters have the option of using either the new touch screen voting machines or new optical scan ballots. Ballots cast during weekend voting will be counted along with other ballots on election night.
Voters may also vote anytime before election day at the Registrar’s Office during normal business hours, Monday – Friday from 8 a.m.-5 p.m.
The deadline to request an absentee ballot by mail is 5 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 24. The application to request an absentee ballot can be found on the back of the sample ballot. Absentee ballots may also be requested by writing to the Registrar of Voters’ Office, P.O. Box 1147, San Jose, CA 95109. Applications and letters must include the voter’s name, address, mailing address and signature.
The Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters is taking steps to ensure that no eligible voter will be turned away from the polls even though the deadline to register has passed by allowing voters to cast a provisional ballot if there is a question about their eligibility to vote.
These questions may arise when a voter moves within the county but fails to reregister to vote at their new address.
Voters are not required to provide identification or proof of residency to cast a provisional ballot but they must sign an affidavit at the polls attesting that they are eligible to vote.
Voters do not need to present identification when they go to the polls March 2, unless they are voting for the first time in a federal election or if they have registered to vote by mail. The March 2 election is such an election.
The voter ID requirement is part of the Help America Vote Act (HAVA), a federal law passed in 2002.
Voters who are subject to the identification requirement must provide it whether voting at the polls or by mail. Absentee voters will receive a letter informing them if they need to provide identification and listing the types of acceptable identification.
Voters who are not able to provide an I.D. will not be prevented from casting a ballot. They will be allowed to vote on a provisional ballot, which are counted after being verified.
Acceptable forms of photo identification include:
Driver’s license or ID card (any state), passport, employee ID card, credit or debit card, student, military, health club, insurance plan ID cards.
Voters may also submit documents that include their name and address, and are dated after the previous election. These documents include: utility bill, bank statement, government check, sample ballot, lease or rental agreement, vehicle registration, tax returns, drug prescription, public transportation senior citizen discount card or IDs issued by governmental disability agencies or homeless shelter.
For more information on any voting issue, contact the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters online at www.sccvote.org or call: Toll Free: (866) 430-VOTE (8683), Spanish : 282-3095, Chinese: 282-3086, Tagalog: 535-3916, Vietnamese: (408) 282-3097.
