Ballots are due Tuesday night. Here's how and where to vote in SLO County

Planning to vote?

About 40,000 ballots had been cast in San Luis Obispo County's primary election by Monday afternoon. That's out of the 120,000 that the county sent out to people who requested to vote by mail, according to County Clerk-Recorder Tommy Gong.

About 166,500 people are registered to vote in the county. Of those, 58,000 are registered as Democrat and 60,600 as Republican; 37,500 declined to state their party preference.

So, how many would-be voters are actually going to turn in their ballots?

Gong suspects the turnout will be higher than in 2014 — but lower than in 2016, when the presidential election inspired high civic engagement.

Given some hotly contested local races, Gong said he expects to see voter turnout between 45 and 50 percent. In 2014, just 41 percent of the 150,300 registered voters turned in their ballot. About 61 percent of 155,800 registered voters turned in their ballots in 2016.

Ballots for the 2018 primary election must be turned in by 8 p.m. Tuesday.

Here's how to vote

1. Find out if you're registered to vote by checking the San Luis Obispo County clerk-recorder's website., clerk.slocounty.ca.gov/voterstatus.

If you're not registered, you can still vote through Election Day by filling out a conditional voter registration card at the county clerk-recorder's San Luis Obispo office, 1055 Monterey St., Suite D120, at the San Luis Obispo Government Center, or its North County office, 6565 Capistrano Ave. in Atascadero, on the second floor of the Atascadero library.

2. If you have your ballot and are voting by mail, remember to sign the envelope. Drop it off at any of the following locations:

• Any polling place in the county.
• The county clerk-recorder's office in San Luis Obispo or Atascadero.
• Mail it at a post office. It must be postmarked by Tuesday. If you chose to mail your ballot, go to the mail counter and request a circle date stamp.

3. If you are voting at a polling place, you must vote at the location assigned to your precinct. Look up your polling place by checking the county clerk-recorder's website.

4. Leave your campaign buttons, hats and t-shirts at home. Electioneering is prohibited within 100 feet of the polling place.

5. If you lost your ballot, still haven't registered or still have questions, call 805-781-5080 or 805-461-6041, visit www.slocounty.ca.gov/Departments/Clerk-Recorder.aspx or visit the county elections offices in San Luis Obispo and Atascadero from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday.

This story was originally published June 4, 2018 at 5:41 PM with the headline "Ballots are due Tuesday night. Here's how and where to vote in SLO County."