Poll Workers Needed for February 5th Election
If an election can be compared to a “horse race,” then a Primary Election is the equivalent of the Kentucky Derby. And this year, the Registrar of Voters is competing for the triple-crown with the Presidential General Election in November.
Unlike other elections, which may be limited to a city or Community College District, this year’s elections cover the entire county. For the February 5 th Presidential Primary there will be 720 precincts, spread through out the County for voters to make their voices heard—119 of those precincts will be in the Coachella Valley.
Staffing those precincts is a virtual army of volunteers – county-wide, more than 3,500 volunteers are needed; 595 in the Fourth Supervisorial District alone. Only days away from the Presidential Primary, the Registrar is still looking for “a few good volunteers.”
“The logistics of recruiting elections officers, training, equipping, and deploying them for each election is an operation that would make the Pentagon proud,” said Chief-Deputy Registrar (and veteran) Wayne Beckham, “and this year, we need the citizens of Riverside County, our “special forces,” for more than one election – we’re already in preparation for the June General Primary.”& amp; amp; amp; amp; amp; amp; amp; amp; amp; amp; amp; amp; amp; amp; amp; amp; amp; amp; lt; /p>
Election Officers receive training before each election at one of dozens of training classes held throughout the County. Each Polling place is staffed by four Election Officers and, currently, the stipends paid are $125.00 for Inspectors (1) and $90.00 for Precinct Officers (3). An additional $20.00 stipend is paid for attending Election Officer Training.
You can sign up to be an Election Officer and any upcoming election by visiting the Registrar’s website at www.voteinfo.net/, or calling, toll free, (877) 663-9906.
Vote-by-Mail
Many voters have opted to take advantage of the convenience offered by “Vote-by-Mail” and requested mail ballots or even become permanent Vote-by-Mail Voters. Vote-by-Mail ballots must be in the possession of the Registrar of Voters by the end of Election Day. Elections code prohibits the Registrar from accepting ballots received after Election Day, even if they’re postmarked by February 5 th. The last day to request a Vote-by-Mail ballot is January 29 th.
If you’re worried that your ballot won’t be delivered to the Registrar on time, you can always place your ballot in the ballot box at any polling place, or deliver it to the Registrar of Voters offices at 2724 Gateway Drive in Riverside. The Registrar’s office has a secure lock box beside the main entrance to their office accessible 24 hours a day for ballot drop off.
What if you don’t know where your nearest polling place is? This information can be easily looked up on the Registrar’s website, www.voteinfo.net. Look for the link, “ Polling Place Sample Ballot Lookup” next to the red, white and blue American Bald Eagle.
Your Primary Ballot
Elections Code requires voters be issued the ballot of qualified party they affiliated with when registering to vote. There are 6 qualified parties—Republican, Democratic, American Independent, Green, Libertarian, and Peace and Freedom. If when you registered to vote you decline to state a party affiliation or registered with an unqualified party, then you will be issued a non-partisan ballot containing only non-partisan contests and measures. A new law does allow voters entitled to a non-partisan ballot to request either a Democratic or American Independent ballot and vote it.
Important Dates
January 22, 2008 – Last day to register to vote in the Primary
January 29, 2008 – Last day to request a Vote-by-Mail ballot
February 5, 2008 – Polls Open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
February 5, 2008 – Polls Open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Streaming Video
The Registrar of Voters office will provide streaming video of the ballot counting Election Night via their webpage at www.voteinfo.net “We want voters in all areas of the County to be able to see ballots being counted on Election Night,” states Barbara Dunmore, Registrar of Voters, “Voters residing in the Coachella Valley will no longer have to drive to the central count location in Riverside to see votes being counted.”