It’s Election Day. How is SLO County turning out to vote?
It’s Election Day in San Luis Obispo County, and local voters are joining others across California to cast their votes in the statewide special election.
Proposition 50, the only item on the ballot, would allow state lawmakers to temporarily redraw California’s congressional district lines until 2030. SLO County’s district boundaries would not be directly impacted if Prop 50 passes or fails, but the proposition could have major consequences for the state as a whole.
Almost 80,000 ballots were returned and counted in SLO County before Election Day, which is “way more” than average for a special election, county Clerk-Recorder Elaina Cano told The Tribune.
As of Tuesday morning, SLO County was placing among the top for highest voter turnout rate of any California county this election, close to 40%, which sits above the state average of around 22% for a special election, Cano said. The turnout is a lower volume than what would be expected for a regular election year, she added.
The vote is “slow, but steady,” Cano said, adding that there have been no major issues at any polling location.
Volunteers were set up outside the SLO County government building well before 9 a.m. on Tuesday, picking up ballots from the passenger windows of cars driving by to drop off their votes, one of the multiple drive-by drop-box locations in the county.
Registered California voters have until 8 p.m. today to turn in their ballots. Cano said she hopes to see the polls “bombarded” with voters before then.
“I’m super proud of our voters here,” she said. “I just want them to keep coming.”
Here is how you can still vote in SLO County today.
Is it too late to mail my ballot?
Voters who live more than 50 miles from a postal hub cannot count on their mail-in ballots being postmarked the day they mail it, according to the U.S. Postal Service.
As a result, the Postal Service advised all voters voting by mail to do so a week before the election, or by Oct. 28.
This applies to every SLO County resident.
The closest mail hub is in Goleta, more than 50 miles away from the county line.
“If you want to see your vote included in Election Night totals, remember that mail ballots received before Election Day will be processed and tabulated and included in the first set of unofficial results released at 8 p.m.,” Cano said in a news release.
However, voters can still take their ballots into post offices in-person to be hand stamped on Election Day and drop them off in drop boxes or bring their ballot to the polls to vote.
Where can I drop off my ballot in SLO County?
If you haven’t mailed your ballot yet, you can drop it off in person at any of the county’s drop box locations.
Here’s where to go in the North County:
- Atascadero Library, 6555 Capistrano Ave., Atascadero
- Paso Robles City Library, 1000 Spring St., Paso Robles
- San Miguel Community Services District, 1765 Bonita Place, San Miguel
- Santa Margarita Library, 9630 Murphy Ave., Santa Margarita
- Shandon Library, 195 North Second St., Shandon
- Templeton Community Services District, 420 Crocker St., Templeton
In the South County:
- Arroyo Grande City Hall, 300 East Branch St., Arroyo Grande
- Grover Beach City Hall, 154 South Eighth St., Arroyo Grande
- Nipomo Library, 918 West Tefft St., Nipomo
- Oceano Library, 1511 19th St., Nipomo
- Pismo Beach City Hall, 760 Mattie Road, Pismo Beach
On the North Coast:
- Cambria Library, 1043 Main St., Cambria
- Cayucos Library, 310 B St., Cayucos
- Los Osos Library, 2075 Palisades, Los Osos
- Morro Bay Library, 625 Harbor St., Morro Bay
In San Luis Obispo:
- Cal Poly, University Union, Second Floor, 1 Grand Ave., San Luis Obispo
- San Luis Obispo County Department of Social Services, 3433 South Higuera St., San Luis Obispo
- San Luis Obispo County Clerk-Recorder’s Office, 1055 Monterey St., San Luis Obispo
How to vote in person on Election Day
On Election Day there will be a total of 45 polling locations in San Luis Obispo County, compared with about 70 polling places for the general election in November.
Since there is only one question on the ballot, there were fewer jurisdictional boundaries to consider when assigning voters to precincts and polling locations this year, the SLO County elections office previously told The Tribune.
SLO County residents who prefer to vote in person on Election Day should head to their assigned polling locations.
Otherwise, they will be required to vote using provisional ballots, according to Erin Clausen, public information specialist for the SLO County Clerk-Recorder’s Office.
You can find your polling place and any last-minute voting site adjustments at slovote.com.
Voters can speed up the process by bringing their vote-by-mail ballots to polling places, the elections office said.
Any voter who brings their mail-in ballot to their assigned polling location can exchange it for a poll ballot to vote in person.
Voters who don’t bring their mail ballots can still vote. They’ll just experience a wait while a poll worker calls the elections office to confirm that their mail ballot has not already been returned.
When are SLO County polling locations open on Election Day?
All 45 polling locations in San Luis Obispo County will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. for Election Day.
The SLO County Clerk-Recorder’s Office, 1055 Monterey St. in San Luis Obispo, and the Atascadero Elections Office, 6565 Capistrano Ave. in Atascadero, will also be open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Election Day, according to Clausen.
Where can I vote in person SLO County on Election Day?
Here’s where you can vote in person in San Luis Obispo County for the California special election.
Polling locations are in alphabetical order by town:
- South County Regional Center — 800 W. Branch St., Arroyo Grande
- St. Barnabas’ Episcopal Church — 301 Trinity Ave., Arroyo Grande
- Cypress Ridge Pavilion — 1050 Cypress Ridge Parkway., Arroyo Grande
- Atascadero Elks Lodge — 1516 El Camino Real, Atascadero
- Atascadero Gospel Chapel — 8205 Curbaril Ave., Atascadero
- Community Church Atascadero — 5850 Rosario Ave., Atascadero
- Atascadero United Methodist Church — 11605 El Camino Real, Atascadero
- Pavilion on the Lake — 9315 Pismo Ave., Atascadero
- Avila Beach Community Center — 191 San Miguel St., Avila Beach
- Cambria Veterans’ Memorial Hall — 1000 Main St., Cambria
- Creston Community Center — 5110 Swayze St., Creston
- Ramona Garden Park Center — 993 Ramona Ave., Grover Beach
- Grover Beach Community Center — 1230 Trouville Ave., Grover Beach
- Baywood Inn — 1370 2nd St., Los Osos
- Trinity United Methodist Church — 490 Los Osos Valley Road, Los Osos
- Morro Bay Veterans Memorial Building — 209 Surf St., Morro Bay
- Estero Bay United Methodist — 3000 Hemlock Ave., Morro Bay
- Monarch Activity Center — 1645 Trilogy Parkway., Nipomo
- Nipomo Library — 918 N. Thompson Ave., Nipomo
- Nipomo Senior Center — 200 E. Dana St., Nipomo
- Nipomo Community Services District Office — 148 S. Wilson St., Nipomo
- The Edwards Barn — 1095 Pomeroy Road, Nipomo
- Oceano Community Services District Office — 1655 Front St., Oceano
- Plymouth Congregational Church — 1301 Oak St., Paso Robles
- Grace Baptist Church — 535 Creston Road, Paso Robles
- Centennial Park — 600 Nickerson Drive, Paso Robles
- Highlands Church — 215 Oak Hill Road, Paso Robles
- North SLO County Association of Realtors — 1101-A Riverside Ave., Paso Robles
- Cypress Mountain Masonic Lodge — 320 Sherwood Road, Paso Robles
- Heritage Village Senior Center — 4882 Heritage Road, Paso Robles
- Pismo Beach Veterans’ Memorial Hall — 780 Bello St., Pismo Beach
- Performing Arts Center San Luis Obispo — One Grand Ave., San Luis Obispo
- Zion Lutheran Church — 1010 E. Foothill Blvd., San Luis Obispo
- United Church of Christ Congregational — 11245 Los Osos Valley Road, San Luis Obispo
- San Luis Obispo Grange Hall — 2880 Broad St., San Luis Obispo
- SLO County Farm Bureau — 4875 Morabito Place, San Luis Obispo
- SLONaz Church — 3396 Johnson Ave., San Luis Obispo
- Unitarian Universalists San Luis Obispo — 2201 Lawton Ave., San Luis Obispo
- ACI-Jet — 4751 Aviadores Way, San Luis Obispo
- Ludwick Community Center — 864 Santa Rosa St., San Luis Obispo
- San Miguel Community Center — 256 13th St., San Miguel
- Santa Margarita Community Hall — 22501 I St., Santa Margarita
- Shandon Clubhouse — 101 W. Centre St., Shandon
- Shell Beach Veterans’ Memorial Hall — 230 Leeward Ave., Shell Beach
- Templeton Hills Seventh Day Adventist Church — 930 Templeton Hills Road, Templeton
Can I register to vote on Election Day?
The deadline to register to vote has expired, but the conditional voting registration period lasts through 8 p.m. on Election Day, when polls close.
During the conditional voting period, anyone who still needs to register must do that in person either at the elections office in SLO or at the satellite North County office in Atascadero, according to SLO County’s elections office.
You can also register to vote at every polling location on Election Day, but these ballots will be confirmed and counted last.
The first round of results will drop at 8 p.m., close of the last polls Tuesday night.
How do I track my California ballot?
You can track when your vote is mailed, received and counted by signing up for Where’s My Ballot? according to the California Secretary of State’s Office.
You can sign up at WheresMyBallot.sos.ca.gov to get automatic notifications through email, text or voice call about your ballot’s location.
The tool is available for voters in every county across the state.
This story was originally published November 4, 2025 at 1:02 PM.
