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Health & Fitness

June 5 Election FAQs

Got Election Questions? We Got Answers.

Santa Cruz County Clerk/Elections Department

Frequently Asked Questions - June 5, 2012 

Q: What is on the ballot June 5?

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A: The following contests are on the ballot:

  • US President
  • US Senate
  • US Representative: Districts 18 and 20
  • State Senate: District 17
  • State Assembly: Districts 29 and 30
  • County Supervisor: Districts 1, 2 and 5
  • Proposition 28 and 29 (each require majority vote to pass)
  • Measure C: West Valley-Mission Community College District Measure (55% vote required to pass)
  • Measure I: Santa Cruz City High School District Measure (2/3 vote required to pass)
  • Measure J: Santa Cruz Elementary School District Measure (2/3 vote required to pass)
  • Measure K: Scotts Valley Unified School District Measure (2/3 vote required to pass)
  • Democratic Central Committee: Districts 3 and 4
  • Peace & Freedom Party Central Committee

Q: How many polling places will be open in Santa Cruz County on June 5?

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A: There will be 130 voting precincts located at 84 polling sites: 51 are singles, 23 are doubles, 7 are triples, and 3 are quads.

Q: How many Santa Cruz County voters vote by mail? 

A: Vote-by-mail voting has steadily increased in popularity in the years since California law was changed to allow any registered voter to vote by mail. The June 2008 election was the first election where more people voted by mail than those who voted at the polls. That trend continued for three of the subsequent four elections. As of May 29, 56,614 of the county’s  146,937 registered voters have signed up to be permanent vote-by-mail voters. 

Q: What are Mail Ballot Precincts?

A: When there are 250 or fewer voters in a unique ballot type, the law allows the elections official to establish a mail ballot precinct and automatically mail these voters a ballot instead of setting up a polling place. For June 5 there are 53 mail ballot precincts with 5,626 registered voters. Thousands of those voters are already signed up to permanent vote-by-mail voters, so this will not be a change for them.

Q: What is the Santa Cruz County Clerk’s voter turnout prediction? 

A: The County Clerk does not predict voter turnout and discourages voters from focusing on such predictions. Voter turnout for primary elections in presidential election years since 1976 has ranged from 73.6 percent to 49.4 percent of the registered voters.

Q: How many Santa Cruz County residents are eligible to vote in the June primary election?

A: As of May 31, there were 146,937Santa Cruz County residents registered to vote. The last day to register to vote in the June 5 primary election was May 21. A final report of registration will be available prior to the June 5 election.

Q: Are vote-by-mail and provisional ballots always counted even in landslide elections?

A: Yes, every valid ballot returned to the county elections officials by 8 p.m. on Election Day is counted in every election, regardless of the ballot type or the margin in any particular contest.

Q: How does the Santa Cruz County elections officials count vote-by-mail and provisional ballots?

A: Counting several thousand vote-by-mail and provisional ballots is a labor-intensive process.

For each ballot, the county elections official must compare the voter's signature on the outside of the envelope to the signature on the voter's original registration form to ensure the signatures match. To preserve secrecy, the ballot is then separated from the envelope, and added to the pile of ballots to be tallied. In Santa Cruz County processing began May 24, though no results can be released until all polls close on Election Day.

With more and more people voting by mail, elections officials often need the full amount of time allowed by law to complete this manual process.

Q: What is provisional voting?

A: Provisional voting ensures that no properly registered voter is denied the right to cast a ballot.

If, for any reason, a voter's name is not on the polling place list or the voter’s eligibility to vote cannot be determined at the time the voter appears to vote, he or she has the right to cast a provisional ballot. The provisional ballot will be counted after the county elections official has confirmed the voter is registered to vote and the voter did not already cast a ballot elsewhere in the election.

Q: How can a voter find out if his or her ballot was counted? 

A: Under federal law, a voter who casts a provisional ballot is entitled to find out from the county elections office whether the ballot was counted and if not, why not. Under state law, a voter who casts a vote-by-mail ballot can find out if the ballot arrived at the county elections office. In Santa Cruz County voters may request this information online at www.votescount.com or call the office at 831-454-2060.

Q: How does the new top-two primary work?

A: The June 5, 2012, primary is the first statewide election conducted under California's Top Two Primary provisions, which apply to legislative and congressional contests, but not candidates running for U.S. president, county central committees and local offices. All candidates for a legislative or congressional office will be listed on one ballot and any voter may vote for any one candidate, regardless of party preference.

Then only the top two vote-getters in each primary contest will move on to the November 6 General Election.

Q: Is a general election needed if there are only one or two candidates in a top-two primary?

A: Even if there are only one or two candidates in a legislative or congressional primary, a general election is still required under the Top Two Primary. However, for county supervisor, if one candidate receives 50% plus one on June 5, that person will be declared elected and there will be no run-off election in November. If no one candidate gets 50% plus one, there will be a run-off between the top two vote getters.

Q: Will No Party Preference (NPP) voters get to vote in all contests?


A: Under the Top Two Primary law, NPP voters previously known as decline-to-state voters, or nonpartisan voters, or independent voters, will be able to vote for US Senate, Congress, State Senate and State Assembly. The primary elections for US President, county central committees and local offices are not affected by the new state law. Only voters indicating a preference for a party may vote for their party's presidential nominee unless a party also allows NPP voters to participate in their primary election.

The Democratic and American Independent parties will permit NPP voters to request their 2012 presidential primary ballots; the Americans Elect Party has chosen not to participate in the June 5 primary; and the other four qualified parties will not allow NPP voters to vote in their primaries.

Q: How many statewide measures are on the ballot and when could they go into effect? 

A: There are two statewide propositions on the June 5 ballot and both are initiatives. An impartial analysis of each measure, the potential costs to taxpayers and much more information are in the Secretary of State's Official Voter Information Guide that is mailed to each voting household and available at voterguide.sos.ca.gov. A statewide initiative requires a simple majority of the public's vote to be enacted. If approved, an initiative takes effect the day after the election, unless the initiative language specifies otherwise.

Q: What is redistricting?

A: Every 10 years after the US Census the State Legislature and the county are required to adjust, or redistrict, their boundaries in order to balance the population. In Santa Cruz County, we have new lines and number identifications for our congressional, state senate and assembly districts. For example, Santa Cruz County used to be divided into two state senate districts (11th and 15th), and now all county residents are in the same state senate district (17th). In addition, the Supervisorial district lines were redrawn so people who used to reside in one Supervisorial district may now reside in another.

Q: When will the election results be final? 

A: By law, county elections officials have 28 days (until July 3) to complete the official canvass and certify final election results to the Secretary of State. We often need that full month to finish the canvass work that includes a complete audit of the polls, manual recounts, processing all remaining vote-by-mail ballots, and researching all provisional ballots. The Secretary of State will then compile and report all results 38 days after the election (July 13). Neither the county elections official nor the Secretary of State will announce the winner of a contest before all ballots are counted; however, news media sometimes choose to call an election sooner. In close contests, a clear winner may not be apparent for many days, as the county needs to verify and count possibly thousands of unprocessed ballots that include vote-by-mail ballots, provisional ballots cast at polling places, and others. The Santa Cruz County’s election results website will be updated as often as possible.

Q: What if voters still have questions on Election Day? 

A: Voters may call the Santa Cruz County Clerk/Elections Department at 831-454-2060 or go to www.votescount.com

Voters can get the address of their polling place, ask election-related questions, or confidentially report potential election fraud or voter intimidation.

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