You need not wait until Election Day to vote.
Starting Tuesday, “Vote By Mail’’ ballots will be accepted for the Nov. 8 elections – with an added convenience this year of secure drop-off boxes all around L.A. County, including one at the Santa Clarita City Clerk’s office at City Hall.
Historically, a high percentage of Santa Clarita voters cast their ballots for City Council by mail – and with council elections consolidated into county, state and national voting for the first time in 2016, it figures to keep the postman busy.
The drop-off boxes are a new feature added by the Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk, which oversees voting and ballot counting, “to continuously provide convenient, accessible and transparent options for Los Angeles County voters to cast their ballot on, and before, Election Day.’’
The drop-off option ends Nov. 7.
There are 11 candidates on the City Council ballot this year, to fill two expiring four-year seats, and a slew of other local school and water board elections.
According to the Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk, mail-in ballots can be obtained by sending a written request no later than seven days before Election Day to: Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk, P.O. Box 30450, Los Angeles, Calif., 90030-0450.
Electronic applications are available at LAvote.net.
Printed Vote by Mail applications are also available on the back page of the Official Sample Ballot booklet.
In recent years, Santa Clarita voters have favored the mail route over going to polling places and waiting in line on Election Day, records show.
According to the City Clerk’s office, in the 2014 City Council race, 15,871 ballots were cast overall – of which 11,867 were provisional or mail-in ballots. That’s 74.8 percent mail-ins.
In the 2012 election, 15,390 votes were cast for council – including 11,607, or 75.4 percent, by mail.
In 2010, the numbers were 14,947 overall ballots, and 10,052, or 67.3 percent, by mail.
City records show the last time more votes were cast at polling places than by mail for a council election was 1998.
More info on the Vote by Mail drop-off program is available at LAvote.net. For more info on Santa Clarita’s election, go to VoteSantaClarita.com.
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