Voter Checklist - Be a Voter

Election season is here! If you want to make your voice heard and be a voter this November 6, 2012 – follow this simple Voter Checklist:

Register to vote.

• All voters must first sign up to vote using your current residence address. 
• Deadline is Monday, October 22.
• If you are not sure if you are registered to vote, you can go to http://bit.ly/AmIreg2vote and check your status.
• You can now register to vote online at www.registertovote.ca.gov.
• Voter registration cards are also available at our office, post offices, libraries, city halls, and fire stations.
• Or call us at 831-454-2060, and we will mail you one.

Do you want to vote by mail?

• If you want to vote by mail, you can request a ballot online at http://bit.ly/VBMnov12. 
• Or you can use the application on the back cover of your county Sample Ballot and Voter’s Information Pamphlet mailed to each voter in the county.

Do you want to vote at the polls?

• Check the back cover of the county Sample Ballot and Voter’s Information Pamphlet mailed to you. 
• Your polling place and address are listed on the bottom half of the back cover. 
• You can also go online to http://bit.ly/where2voteSC and find out where you vote and what is on your ballot. 
• Polls are open on Tuesday, November 6, 2012 from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. 
• Voters are ALWAYS allowed the right to vote. 
• If there is any problem verifying your eligibility to vote at the polls, you have the right to vote a provisional ballot that we will research during the canvass to determine your eligibility.
• Once eligibility is confirmed, your vote is counted.

Do you want to vote early?

• Voting begins on Tuesday, October 9 at the following locations during regular weekday business hours:
  • Elections Department - 701 Ocean St., Room 210 in Santa Cruz, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday – Friday.
  • Watsonville City Clerk’s Office - 275 Main Street, 4th Floor (6th Floor of the parking garage) in Watsonville, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday – Thursday (closed Fridays).

Read your Sample Ballot and Voter’s Information Pamphlet.

• This pamphlet is mailed to every voter in Santa Cruz County who registers to vote by October 9. 
• If you register to vote after October 9, you will be mailed a postcard telling you where you are assigned to vote on Election Day, Tuesday, November 6. 
• The booklet contains a sample of the official ballot you will get at the polls or in the mail if you are voting by mail. 
• The booklet also contains statements submitted by candidates who are on your ballot as well as information about any local measure that is on your ballot. 
• In addition, the booklet contains important information about voting in this November 6, 2012 Presidential General Election.

Read your State Voter Information Guide.

• This guide produced by the state is mailed out one to each household. 
• If there are people in your household with different last names, each person will get their own state Voter Information Guide. 
• This guide contains information on the 10 State Propositions on the ballot. 
• The guide also contains statements submitted by candidates running for U.S. Senate.

Weekend Voting.

• If you want to vote in person, but won’t be able to go to the polls on Tuesday, November 6, Santa Cruz County Elections offers weekend voting on Saturday and Sunday, November 3 and 4 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the following locations:
  • Elections Department – 701 Ocean St., Room 210 in Santa Cruz
  • Watsonville Community Room – 275 Main Street, 4th Floor (6th Floor of the parking garage) in Watsonville.

Vote.

• Whichever method you use to vote, be sure to cast your ballot for the November 6, 2012 Presidential Election.  
• Voting is not a test. It is OK to leave contests blank. 
• If you need assistance, please call us at 831-454-2060. Se habla español.