Santa Barbara County sends out Vote-By-Mail ballots to registered voters

SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, Calif. – With the General Election around the corner on November 8, Santa Barbara County announced that today it sent out Vote-By-Mail ballots to registered voters.

County officials said that all official Vote-By-Mail ballots will be mailed to voters by October 10 – the day official secure ballot drop boxes will open.

According to Clerk-Recorder-Assessor Joseph E. Holland, the vote by mail packet will contain the following items:

• The voter’s Official Ballot
• Instructions for voting and returning the ballot
• A ballot return envelope with a unique barcode that allows the Elections Office staff to verify the signature of the voter on the envelope with the voter’s registration record. This may be the signature on the voter registration card submitted by the voter or the signature on the voter’s driver’s license if they registered to vote at the DMV. It is important that the voter verifies that their name is printed on the envelope (it doesn’t belong to another person living at the same address), signs the envelope and encloses the ballot in the return envelope.

Holland also said if a voter receives a ballot for a person who is no longer living at the address, please:

• Mark the box on the bottom left corner of the outgoing envelope and return the packet to a mail carrier, or
• Write “No longer at this address” on the outside envelope and return it to a mail carrier.

Registered voters are asked to check their mailboxes for their ballot and related voter information guides, which should be received within the next 5-10 days, according to the county.

Holland said that ballots may be returned by mail (postmarked by Election Day, Nov. 8), returned in-person to one of the county's three election offices, to an official secure ballot drop box, or to any polling place on Election Day.

A list of polling place and official drop box locations can be found at sbcvote.com, by clicking on the November 8, 2022 General Election link under Current Activities, according to the county.

To sign-up to track your ballot, visit: WheresMyBallot.sos.ca.gov.

To check your voter registration status, look-up your polling place, and find your ballot’s status, county officials said you can use the look-up tool at voterstatus.sos.ca.gov or call the office at 1-800-722-8683.

To register to vote or to update your registration, voters can register online at registertovote.ca.gov or request a registration form by calling 1-800-722-8683. Voter registration forms are available at local DMV offices, post offices and public libraries, according to county officials.

The county provided the following Santa Barbara County Elections Offices locations:

• Santa Barbara Elections Main Office (4440-A Calle Real) - 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• Santa Maria Elections Branch Office (511 Lakeside Parkway, Ste. 134) - 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., closed from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m.
• Lompoc Elections Branch Office: 401 East Cypress Avenue, Rm 102 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., closed from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m.