SLO County voters cast ballots in recall election. Which party is leading the turnout?
There’s just one week left until the gubernatorial recall election, and Democrats are showing a higher initial turnout than Republicans in San Luis Obispo County with about one third of ballots cast so far.
All registered voters in the county last month received mail-in ballots to cast in the Sept. 14 recall election. Voters will decide whether to recall Gov. Gavin Newsom and replace him with another candidate, or to keep him in office for his full term, which ends in January 2023.
As of Tuesday, the county Clerk-Recorder’s Office had processed and accepted approximately 55,000 ballots of the 185,000 staff sent to voters, said Helen Nolan, deputy clerk-recorder.
So far, nearly 30% of voters have cast ballots, up from 25% last week.
The office also has another 12,800 ballots that haven’t yet gone through the signature verification process, as well as approximately 2,000 ballots the Post Office delivered on Tuesday, Nolan said.
Party affiliation breakdown, fixing mismatched signatures
Of the 55,000 ballots processed, about 25,800 came from registered Democrats, 17,400 came from registered Republicans and nearly 10,000 came from voters who’ve registered as No Party Preference.
Nolan said those numbers are approximate and do not account for all ballots received. A ballot from someone who’s registered with a certain party also doesn’t indicate whether that person voted ‘yes’ to recall Newsom or ‘no’ to vote against removing him from office, she said.
The Clerk-Recorder’s Office won’t release any results until 8 p.m. on Election Day, Nolan said.
Nolan also noted the office will be sending letters to voters whose ballot signatures do not match the ones on their voter registration. The letter will give those voters the chance to “cure” the mismatch between the ballot and the registration.
Clerk-recorder staff can’t count ballots with mismatched signatures until they receive their letters back, Nolan said. Voters can return these letters in person, scan them and send them by email or put them in the mail with the included envelope.
Those with questions about voting in the recall election can call the Clerk-Recorder’s Office at 805-781-5080.
What about statewide turnout?
As of Tuesday, about 22.2 million voters statewide — about 26% — have cast their ballots in the recall election, according to Political Data Inc.’s 2021 Recall Ballots Returned Tracker.
About 53% of returned ballots have come from registered Democrats, 25% have come from registered Republicans and 25% have come from “other” voters.
So far, 67% of voters who’ve cast ballots have been age 50 and older. Just 14% of votes have come from people ages 18 to 34, and 18% have come from people ages 35 to 49.
Most recall voters — 69% — have also been white. Latinos make up about 17% of voters.
How does a recall election work?
A recall election is a special election aimed at removing an elected official from office before the end of their term.
Before a recall election can happen, a certain number of voters must sign a petition indicating support for recalling the elected official.
If successful, the petition will trigger a special recall election in which registered voters vote on whether the elected official should remain in office — and, if they are recalled, who should replace them.
To date, only six recall attempts have been successful, including the 2003 recall of then-Gov. Gray Davis, who was replaced by former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, according to the Secretary of State’s office.
How to turn in your ballot by mail or drop box
To mail in your ballot, simply remove the ballot stub, seal the ballot in the return envelope provided and sign your name on the envelope before dropping it in the mail. All ballots must be postmarked on or before Sept. 14 to be counted.
You don’t even need a stamp. Postage is paid for by the county.
If you don’t want to run to the post office, you can also return the sealed ballot in person to the County Clerk-Recorder’s Office at 1055 Monterey St. in San Luis Obispo. Starting on Aug. 30, you can also return it to the office at 6565 Capistrano Ave. in Atascadero.
You can also drop off your ballot at any one of the 17 official drop boxes across San Luis Obispo County. For a list of those locations, visit the county Elections Office website.
Can I vote in person?
Yes, you can still vote in person if you don’t want to vote by mail.
Polling places will be open on Sept. 14 from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. To find your local polling place, visit the San Luis Obispo County Elections Office website.
Make sure to bring your blank mail-in ballot with you to surrender. You’ll be given a different ballot to vote in-person at the polling location.
If you didn’t receive a mail-in ballot but are registered to vote or if you have other questions, contact the San Luis Obispo County Elections Office at 805-781-5228 or visit SLOvote.com.
