Vote-by-mail ballots for all active Placer County voters were mailed by Oct. 6; voters who have not received their ballots should contact the Elections Office immediately. There have been recent social media and news reports that a hole in the ballot envelope aligns with the yes/no ovals on ballots. The Placer County Elections Office would like to assure its voters that the hole placement on Placer County envelopes does not allow for voting position ovals to align and be seen through the envelope.

Due to this statewide special election, vote center and drop box locations have changed. Voters are highly encouraged to review their voting materials closely, especially the lists of locations and their days and hours of operation, and to consider casting their ballots early to avoid waiting in line.

Perhaps the easiest and fastest way to cast a ballot in the Nov. 4 election is by using “Sign, Scan & Go!” Starting Oct. 25, voters can bring their vote-by-mail ballot to any open vote center, sign in, scan their ballot and go. Voters who have used “Sign, Scan & Go!” say they love seeing their votes counted as they watch and included in election night results.

A list of all 17 Placer County vote center locations, as well as their days and hours of operation, is in the county voter information guide and available on the Placer County Elections website at https://www.placercountyelections.gov/. The “Sign, Scan & Go!” option is already available at the Placer County Elections Office located at 3715 Atherton Road in Rocklin during normal business hours.

Those who return their ballot by mail or through one of 20 official ballot drop boxes are reminded to seal their ballot in its return envelope and to sign the envelope on the back under the flap, next to the red X. Elections staff have received signature comparison training and review every vote-by-mail signature. If a signature is missing or does not compare with the signature on the voter’s record, staff will contact the voter and only count the ballot once the issue is resolved.

Ballots returned via drop box are retrieved by teams of elections staff in marked vehicles and brought back to the Elections Office for processing utilizing chain of custody procedures; drop box locations and their hours of operation can be found in the county voter information guide and on the Placer County Elections website, https://www.placercountyelections.gov/. Mailed ballots must be postmarked on or before Election Day, Nov. 4, and received by the Elections Office no later than Nov. 12.