It’s not too late to vote in Fresno County. Here’s what you need to know
The Nov. 3 general election is in the final stretch and has already seen record early voting in Fresno County, but it’s not too late for procrastinators to cast ballots.
Ballots postmarked on or before Nov. 3 will continue to be counted, and 66 drop boxes plus 53 voting centers are also options for voters.
Fresno County Registrar of Voters Brandi Orth said while dropping the ballot in the mail is still an option she recommends using a drop box. She also recommends a drop box over waiting in line at a voting center, which are already seeing lines because of COVID-19 safety precautions.
“If you are coming to a voting center wanting to vote in person, you better bring your patience because you’ll be waiting in line and you’ll be waiting outside,” she said.
The drop boxes lock and will no longer take ballots after 8 p.m. Tuesday.
The Fresno County Registrar of Voters Office has tallied 224,074 ballots returned through the day before Election Day.
That means with 496,482 registered voters in Fresno County this year, 45.1% have already returned their ballots in the mail or by drop box through Tuesday morning.
This year is the first presidential election in Fresno County that allowed every registered voter to mark and return ballots early. Precinct voting is a thing of the past.
The last time voters picked a president in 2016 only those who requested ballots by mail could vote early. That year, 121,256 people had returned ballots by the day before Election Day, or about 27.7% of voters.
The March primary saw a turnout of 42% when it was all said and done.
The Fresno County voter returns so far trail the state, which has seen about 50% returned, according to the Secretary of State. More than 22 million are registered.
Still time to vote
Since Saturday, 53 voting centers around the county have been open during the day for anyone who would like to vote in person. They will also be open on Election Day until 8 p.m.
Orth said state law allows elections employees to already begin to open ballots, verify signatures and run them through the counting machines, but the actual tally isn’t allowed to come out until 8:05 p.m. Tuesday.
Orth said she expects to have more than 200,000 votes counted by the time the tallies can be made public.
For a full list of drop boxes and voting centers, go to fresnovote.com.
The Fresno County Registrar’s of Voters Office, 2221 Kern St., on Election Day will have a drive-thru option in which county employees will gather ballots without making voters leave their cars.
Anyone can check the status of their ballot at the “Where’s My Ballot?” page for the California Secretary of State’s Office. Elections staffers remind voters to sign the ballot before dropping it in a box or mail. For any ballot troubleshooting, call the registrar’s office at 559-600-8683.
Who is on the ballot?
President Donald Trump is seeking re-election against challenger and former Vice President Joe Biden, but a number of local races are at stake including three congressional races.
Rep. Jim Costa, D-Fresno, faces businessman Kevin Cookingham in the 16th Congressional District. The district covers parts of the city of Fresno and all of Merced County.
Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Tulare, is looking to hold off the challenge to the 22nd Congressional seat from Phil Arballo, a small business owner. The seat includes parts of north Fresno and Clovis and bends down into Visalia and Tulare.
Rep. TJ Cox, D-Fresno, has a familiar challenger in farmer David Valadao, who had the 21st seat until losing to Cox in 2018. The 21st covers a large part of the west side of Fresno and Tulare counties and dips into Bakersfield.
There are several municipal, school and special district elections on central San Joaquin Valley ballots, plus a slew of state propositions.
Some drop box locations:
The Fresno Center, 4879 E. Kings Canyon Road
Mary Ella Brown Community Center, 1350 E. Annadale Ave.
Manchester Transit Center, 3590 N. Blackstone Ave.
River Park, 250 Paseo Del Centro
Tower District, 1226 N. Wishon Ave.
Campus Pointe, 3090 E. Campus Pointe Drive
Clovis Veterans Memorial District, 808 Fourth St.
Clinton and Brawley Shopping Center, 2450 N. Brawley Ave.
A few of the voting center locations:
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
This story was originally published November 2, 2020 at 12:19 PM.
