Now that the U.S. Postal Service has said that it might take a little bit longer for mail to get delivered, election officials acknowledge that mailed-in ballots will be counted, provided they are postmarked by Election Day and received within three days of that date.
The voters in Long Beach who will be deciding on a council member, school board or college trustee on April 12 will still have the option of dropping their choices into the mail box. They won’t get that iconic “I voted” sticker, but at least it will be counted eventually.
The recent changes in election law now allow flexibility for the people in charge of tallying the mailed-in ballots. Long Beach City Clerk Maria de la Luz Garcia said in a phone interview this week that a new law allows her department to collect those mailed-in ballots at the post office in the days after election. She added that only the VBM ballots received through Monday, April 11 will be reported on the night of the election. That opening tally released around 8pm on election night will reflect that count. Garcia explained that poll workers won’t have to be stationed at the post office to collect the final vote-by-mail (VBM) ballots on Election Day.
However, for those voters who might be tempted to procrastinate in getting their mailed-in ballots to the post office or to the city clerk until April 12, they may be disappointed to learn that if they merely drop off their VBM ballot at the post office or at the polling station on Election Day, there will be a delay in getting it counted. Garcia said that her office will begin verifying those ballots that Wednesday, the day after the election.
“If you wanted to have your ballot!among the first to be counted for the election period,” Garcia concluded, “[mail] it in advance of the election day.”
The clerk acknowledged that for the mailed-in ballots, if the city clerk’s office does receive a ballot before Friday, April 15, it will be counted, provided it is postmarked by April 12.
County election officials will follow the same law when they handle the upcoming primary election scheduled for June 7. LA County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk Dean Logan emphasized that there is a small window of time for those VBM ballots to be counted. His office will also tally VBM ballots that are postmarked on that election day, if they are received within three days of that day.
“So there is that three-day buffer,” Logan said. “But given recent changes with the US Postal Service, we strongly encourage voters!if they’re going to mail their ballot back!to do that early and to leave enough time to ensure that we do get it back.”
Out-of-town military and overseas personnel who must vote remotely have options to get their ballot to the city clerk’s office. Garcia said that her office has worked with these voters. In the past, the city clerk’s office has told the Signal Tribune that a faxed-in vote from South America was sent in for a municipal election.
There is also one other option for those individuals who want to participate in the democratic process. Long Beach does have an electronic voting machine in the city clerk’s office. Although it is set up to accommodate those with disabilities, any eligible voter can use it. Garcia said the machine has been available since earlier this month. As of Wednesday, only one person has been curious enough to use it this election cycle.
Garcia said that the voters do have options, stressing that she wants to ensure that there is convenience, ease of use and accessibility.
“[We] encourage everybody who is eligible to vote to come out and vote in whichever way that they can,” she said.
Not everyone in Long Beach will be voting next month. April 12 elections will be held to decide representatives to: Long Beach City Council Districts 2, 6 and 8; Long Beach Unified School District Board of Education Districts 2 and 4; and Long Beach Community College Board of Trustees Offices 2 and 4.
