Santa Barbara County Elections Office counting early voting ballots

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — 99,000 votes have been cast in the 2020 President Election through Monday.. Registrar of voters, Joe Holland, said that of those 99,000 votes, 80,000 have already been counted. And so far over 40% of registered voters in the county have returned their ballot.

Holland said most people are returning their ballots via the United States Postal Service. But, the extra ballot boxes are popular among voters. USPS officials told Holland they recommend voters drop their ballots in the mail by Tuesday, October 27 to make sure they’re in on time.

So far of the 96,000 ballots, Holland said only 600 have had a problem being counted. 400 were not signed on the back and another 200 their signatures did not match. Holland said his team is reaching out to those voters. And when those voters fill out extra paperwork and send it back their vote will count. To check the status of your ballot visit the county’s elections website.

Holland added his staff is checking and counting ballots now. And once polls close at 8 p.m. on Election Day, November 3, they will be added to the totals.