Santa Cruz County Elections

June 3, 2008
California Primary Election

Vote-by-Mail Ballot Drop Box Available 24/7

Voters may drop their voted absentee ballot in one of two convenient drop boxes, one in Santa Cruz and the other in Watsonville. The drop boxes are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and no postage is required.

The absentee ballot drop box in Santa Cruz is located in front of the County Government Center, it is a white mailbox-style receptacle. The absentee drop box in Watsonville is located in the parking lot behind City Hall and in front of the Police Department on Union Street. It is a green box, typically reserved for dropping off payments to the City, but has been made available now for voters to deposit their voted ballots.

Voters should be aware of the strict laws governing return of their voted absentee ballot. The law prohibits any absent voter’s ballot to be returned by any paid or volunteer worker of any campaign. Any person who receives a voted ballot in violation of the law is punishable by a fine and/or imprisonment.

The law does, however, allow a voter, who because of illness or other disability, to authorize certain relatives or a household member to return the ballot for them. In the six days prior to the election, the law further allows any person authorized in writing by the voter to pick up his or her ballot and return the voted ballot on behalf of the voter.

Santa Cruz County election officials remind voters who are returning their vote-by-mail ballots that they must sign the declaration on the outside of the envelope. Unfortunately, if there is no signature or if the signature on the vote-by-mail ballot return envelope does not compare to the voter's signature on his or her voter's registration card, election officials cannot count the ballot.