Santa Barbara prepares for upcoming City Council election

The city of Santa Barbara wants to make sure voters are ready for the upcoming city council election on November 5.

It’s a vote by mail election only.

Voters can mail their ballots or drop them off at three locations, including City Hall, the Franklin Neighborhood Center, and Holy Cross Church.

The City Hall drop-off location will be open Monday through Thursday from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and Fridays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. It will also be open on Saturday, November 2 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and again on Election Day from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Workers will be stationed in the City Hall lobby to collect ballots on certain days, but when they aren’t there, voters can drop their ballots in a drop-off box inside the City Clerk’s Office.

The Franklin Neighborhood Center, located at 1136 East Montecito Street, and Holy Cross Church, located at 1740 Cliff Drive, will be open on Election Day only from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

The city is contracting with the Los Angeles County Elections office, so the ballots will be tallied in Norwalk. Election officials say it will take time to transport ballots from Santa Barbara to Los Angeles County, so the tally results released on Election Night won’t include ballots that were received on Election Day.

The first tally on Election Night is expected to include ballots that were received in the mail or at City Hall by Friday, November 1.

A second tally will be held on November 8, which will include ballots received in the mail by November 6 and those brought into City Hall and other drop-off centers by November 5. An additional tally will be held the following week.

KEYT 2019