Ryan Ronco, County Clerk-Recorder-Registrar of Voters

Elections Office
2956 Richardson Drive
PO Box 5278
Auburn, CA 95604
(530) 886-5650
E-mail: [email protected]

Now that you have registered to vote, it is natural for you to have questions. Hopefully, these answers will help you. If you are not registered to vote, click here for information on how to Register to Vote. For more information for a newly registered voter click here http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/voting-info.

What will happen now?

1. In four to six weeks, you will receive in the mail a Voter Notification card. This will notify you that the Elections Office now has your registration card on file and requests that you check the information to be sure that it is correct.
2. Between forty and twenty-one days before the election, the Elections Office will send you a sample ballot pamphlet that will contain the information about the candidates and ballot measures on which you will vote. The address of the polling place will be shown on the mailing label of the sample ballot pamphlet back cover. Also watch for the state Voter information guide sent to you by the Secretary of State’s office before every June Primary and November General Election. This too contains valuable information.
3. When you have read the sample ballot and/or state Voter information guide carefully and you feel that you are informed on each issue and candidate, mark your sample ballot. Take the sample ballot pamphlet with you into the voting booth on Election Day to save time.

How do I vote at the polls?

1. The location of your polling place can be found on the back cover of your sample ballot pamphlet.
2. Once at the polling place you will announce your name and address to the Election Officer who will check to see if your name is on the listing. When your name and address are located, the Elections Officer will ask you to sign your name in the roster.If your name is not on the list, you may be at the wrong polling place. Check the polling place address on your sample ballot. If you are sure that you are registered and at the correct address, ask the Elections Officer to call the Elections Office to verify your registration and polling place.
3. After you have signed your name in the roster the Elections Officer will issue you an official ballot along with a secrecy sleeve and pen to mark your ballot. They will also give you instructions on how to vote the ballot and how to insert the ballot into the vote counting machine. You will then take the official ballot to a voting booth and mark your ballot by darkening in the oval beside the candidate of your choice or beside the word “Yes” or “No” if you are voting on a measure.Vote only for one candidate in each office unless the instructions on the ballot say it is ok to vote for more. Also, vote Yes or No for each measure. Be sure to vote both sides of the ballot. And please note – You do not have to vote on every candidate or issue. If you do not know how to vote on a particular candidate or issue you may leave it blank. Your ballot will still be counted.To vote for a qualified write-in candidate, you must write his or her name in the blank space provided at the bottom of the appropriate office and completely darken in the oval next to his or her name. The Elections Officer will have a list of qualified write-in candidates for your reference.You may take your sample ballot and any other information that will help you make a decision while voting into the voting booth. If you feel that you need assistance, a person of your choice may be with you while you vote.
4. If you make a mistake on your ballot, take it to the Elections Officer. He or she will put it into a special envelope marked “Spoiled” and will give you another ballot to vote. You may only have up to two ballots to correct mistakes.
5. When you finish voting, take the ballot to the vote counting machine and insert the ballot. Return the secrecy sleeve and borrowed pen to the Elections Officer.

How do I vote by mail?

Any registered voter may choose to vote by mail – called vote by mail voting – instead of voting at their polling place on election day. Ballots may be mailed anywhere in the world. Voted vote by mail ballots returned by mail must be postmarked on or before election day, and must be received by our office by mail no later than 7 days after election day. When returning a voted ballot in person either at the Elections Office, at a designated ballot drop-off site (see “Where to Vote” tab at the top of the page, your Voter Information Guide or contact our office for more information), or at Placer County polling location on election day, the voted ballot must be received by the Elections Office by 8:00 PM on Election Day in order to be counted. The vote by mail ballot envelope must be signed by the voter in order to be counted. The signature is verified on every vote by mail ballot received by the Elections Office.

How to request a vote by mail ballot:

You may call our office at 530-886-5650 or toll free in California at 1-800-824-8683 to request a one-time vote by mail ballot.

You may also write a one-time request on a blank piece of paper and mail it to: Placer County Elections Office, PO Box 5278, Auburn, CA 95604. Please write legibly and include:

• The election for which you are requesting a ballot
• Your full name
• Your residence address
• The address to which would like your ballot mailed
• Your signature and the date of the request
• Telephone number (optional)

or

You may print out our Vote by Mail Ballot Request Form, complete the form and mail to:

Placer County Elections
PO Box 5278
Auburn, CA 95604

Returning your voted vote by mail ballot:

You may return your voted vote by mail ballot by mail, bring it into the Elections Office or drop it off at any polling place, vote center, vote by mail drop off location or drop box in the state. If you are unable to return your ballot yourself, you may have a relative (spouse, child, parent, grandparent, grandchild, brother, sister or any person living in the same household) deliver the ballot for you. Be sure that you signed your ballot envelope or we cannot count your ballot.

The Elections Office will begin mailing out requested vote by mail ballots 29 days before the election and continuing until the 7th day prior to the election. A voter may come into the office and pick up their ballot starting on this 29th day. We will accept voted ballots beginning on the same day.

Because of the mail time to get the ballot to you, and for you to mail the voted ballot back to our office, ballot requests received after the 7th day before an election will not be mailed out. Voters may come into the Elections Office and pick up their ballots over the counter up until the close of polls, 8:00 PM on election day.

Frequently Asked Questions

• Frequently Asked Questions: Provisional Voting
• Frequently Asked Questions: Registering to Vote
• Frequently Asked Questions: Vote by Mail