Fresno ballot count looks strong, clerk says. Here’s where you can still vote
Although presidential primary elections have a history of lower turnout than November elections, Fresno is showing strong numbers in the tally of ballots returned.
The Fresno County Registrar of Voters Office reports 100,396 ballots were mailed or dropped off through Monday — a noticeable improvement from 2018’s count through the same point of the election, when just 92,607 had been tallied.
That means 21% percent of ballots have been returned out of the 471,384 ballots sent out in the mail on Feb. 3.
Election Day for the primary has yet to be counted, and voters can still walk into any center to vote, Registrar of Voters Brandi Orth said.
Almost 41% of registered voters turned out in Fresno County in June 2016, the primary before President Donald Trump was first elected. Turnout was just 29% in the 2012 primary.
“We expect turnout to be higher than in these previous primaries,” Orth said on Monday.
The county has been working out the kinks in its first year implementing the Voters Choice Act, when every registered voter was mailed a ballot. The choice voters have is whether to mail the ballot back or to show up to vote at any of the 53 voting centers.
The primary is not insignificant. Not only could the presidential race in California help decide which Democrat faces President Donald Trump in his bid for re-election, but Fresno could be deciding its next mayor Tuesday.
There are also other local and federal races, plus school bonds to be decided.
Where to vote
The 53 centers are peppered through the county, most of which are in the city of Fresno. Smaller places like Mendota, Kingsburg and Squaw Valley each have a single center in town.
Voters should not go to an old precinct looking to vote the prior way. Orth said those 268 precincts changed every year, and staff would not be posting signage directing people to voting centers.
Mailers went out to registered voters in December and January to notify them of the change.
For the larger metropolitan areas like Fresno and Clovis, parks and schools are among the public and private buildings used as voting centers. Every center is open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Election Day.
The more prominent voting centers:
Clovis
▪ Clovis City Utility Building, 1033 Fifth St.
Fresno
▪ Betty Rodriguez Library, 3040 N. Cedar Ave.
▪ West Fresno Regional Library Building, 142 E. California Ave.
▪ Woodward Park Regional Library, 944 E. Perrin Ave.
▪ Central California Blood Center, 4343 W. Herndon Ave.
▪ Sunnyside Library, 5566 E. Kings Canyon Road
▪ Ted C. Wills Community Center, 770 N. San Pablo Ave.
Sanger
▪ Sanger Community Center, 730 Recreation Ave.
San Joaquin
▪ Leo Cantu Community Center, 22058 Railroad St.
Selma
▪ Selma Neighborhood Resource Center, 1940 E. Front St., Suite 102
Other Counties
For details on voting in other central San Joaquin Valley counties, contact the local election office.
Kings: 559-852-4401 or countyofkings.com/elections
Madera: 559-675-7720 or 800-435-0509 or votemadera.com
Mariposa: 209-966-2007 or mariposacounty.org/elections
Merced: 209-385-7541 or 800-561-0619 or co.merced.ca.us/elections
Tulare: 559-624-7300 or tularecoelections.org/elections
This story was originally published March 2, 2020 at 1:53 PM.
