Time is running out to register for the March 2 election but the
Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters is making it easy to sign
up. The Registrar has also put out a call for poll workers.
Time is running out to register for the March 2 election but the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters is making it easy to sign up. The Registrar has also put out a call for poll workers.
Voters have until Feb. 2 to register or re-register in time to receive a sample ballot in the mail. The final deadline to register in time to vote, with no sample ballot, is Feb. 17.
Registration forms are available online from the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters at www.sccvote.org, at public libraries, post offices, DMV and most government offices including city halls. Register online at www.ss.ca.gov/ Details: 299-8683 or toll free at 866-430-8683.
The forms may be mailed – postmarked by the Feb. 2 or 17 deadlines – or dropped off at the Registrar of Voters’ Office, 1555 Berger Drive, Building 2, San Jose. Anyone who has changed their address, name or political party affiliation must re-register.
All registered voters will receive a letter informing them of their polling place location, but the registrar’s office wants to make sure voters get a sample ballot.
“The sample ballot contains lots of information about the candidates, the issues, and we want them to have that information,” said Elma Rosas, spokeswoman for the registrar.
The Secretary of State mails a state voter pamphlet covering state issues, while the county Registrar of Voters has started mailing the presidential primary election sample ballots. The sample ballots contain candidates’ statements, impartial analysis and arguments for and against local measures.
As of Jan. 2, there were 16,990 registered voters in Morgan Hill, Rosas said, although that number will likely increase slightly as election day nears.
Of Morgan Hill voters, 6,807 are Democrats, 6,455 are Republicans and another 3,035 are ‘declined to state’ or belong to the smaller parties.
Because the election is a “modified closed primary,” voters registered with a qualified political party may only vote the election ballot of that party. Voters who ‘decline to state’ their party may choose one party’s primary ballot to use.
The registration spread in Gilroy is somewhat different, with 17,365 registered altogether, 8,514 as Democrats and 5,295 as Republicans.
Another 3,466 have ‘declined to state’ their affiliation or are registered with the smaller parties.
Turnout in March could be higher than it was in the October recall election, Rosas said.
“In something like this, we could get some more (voters) just because it is a presidential election, and we could see some more interest in voting for president,” Rosas said.
The registrar is also looking for registered voters to staff the polls in Morgan Hill, Gilroy and elsewhere in the county. Poll workers earn a stipend between $95 and $130 for the day, and earn more if they are bilingual.
Touchscreen voting, unveiled in only certain areas of Santa Clara County in the last election, will be used in all 783 precincts countywide in March.
Voters may also cast absentee ballots by mailing them to the county registrar or dropping them off at a polling place by 8 p.m. on Election Day. Absentee ballots are included in the sample ballot or may be requested in writing from the registrar’s office. The last day absentee ballots will be mailed to voters is seven days before the election.
The presidential primary election may be the most visible race at this point, however, Morgan Hill voters will also be choosing candidates to run for seats on the U.S. House of Representatives, Senate, state Senate and state Assembly, as well as two Superior Court judge offices. This will be the first election after the most recent redistricting for state Senate. While Morgan Hill and San Martin stay with District 15, Gilroy will now elect a state Senator for District 13. Republicans will also vote for candidates for their party’s Santa Clara County Central Committee.
Four state propositions are on the ballot, including $15 billion state bond, Prop. 57; Prop. 55 to allow the state to sell $12.3 billion in bonds to build and repair public schools and colleges; Prop. 56 to lower the state Legislature vote needed to pass the budget from 67 to 55 percent; Prop. 57 is Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s method to allow the state to sell $15 billion in bonds to balance the state budget and Prop. 58 would require a balanced state budget.
There are four local measures as well: Measure E is Gavilan College’s $108 million bond for renovation and upgrades; Measure B, a county library tax; a regional traffic relief plan; and a measure to place juvenile hall and probation oversight into the hands of the Board of Supervisors.
Measure B would continue the parcel tax already paid by homeowners, that helps operate the Morgan Hill’s, and other county libraries and raise it from $36.66 to $42 a year for seven years, after which the tax would stop.
Measure C asks for approval to update Morgan Hill’s Measure P, the growth-control initiative. Measure C mandates that the city will not grow larger than 48,000 by 2020, makes adjustments to allow the city to meet state-mandated numbers of affordable housing and would make dealing with Measure C more efficient for city staff and developers. Morgan Hill’s population as of Jan. 1, 2003 was 34,900.
Details: the Registrar of Voters’ Office, www.sccvote.org or call 299-VOTE (8683). For information on staffing a polling place, contact 299-7655.
