Long Beach Vote

Vote By Mail and Other Important June 7 Election Questions

4 years ago Feature, Long Beach Vote 2016

The June 7 ballot should be in the hands of most Long Beach voters who signed up for Vote by Mail. The Vote by Mail envelopes began going out May 9 from the office of the Los Angeles Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk. Although the Vote by Mail ballots were mailed by that office doesn’t mean the Long Beach City Clerk doesn’t have a role in the June 7th elections.

PalacioMagazine.com interviewed, by phone, the Long Beach City Clerk Maria Garcia for the latest updates on the Vote by Mail process and some other important deadliness fast approaching.

Big Election Day is June 7

On June 7, Long Beach voters will be going to the polls for Federal, State and local contests. Garcia explains that “Locally, voters in [Long Beach] Council District 2 will be asked to vote for their next City Council representative and voters citywide will be voting on two ballot measures.”

Only voters in Council District 2 will notice any real difference at the polls in what City Clerk Maria Garcia describes as a coordinated election. “That means that all eligible voters in Council District 2 will receive two ballots, one statewide and one local ballot for the upcoming election being held on June 7. All other Long Beach Voters will be receiving one statewide ballot that will contain the two local ballot measures.” Those Long Beach ballot measures are Measure A and Measure B.

The District 2 ballot will allow those voters to choose their next Council member. Candidates Jeannine Pearce and Eric Gray are facing off against each other in a runoff election. Voters in District 2, along with voters in the rest of the city, will also receive the statewide ballot.

The Power of Research in Voting by Mail

The June ballot can seem intimidating. The statewide ballot is a primary so there are choices for President, thirty-four candidates for United States Senator, U.S. Congress, State Assembly and Judges.

How do you research all these candidates? “There is information available in a couple of different locations,” according to city Clerk Garcia.

“One is in the official sample ballot booklet.” There, voters can read candidate statements written by them and paid to be in the sample ballot booklet. You also can view your sample ballot online at lavote.net.

“In addition, several candidates have websites.” You can Google them and find their websites.

Deadlines for Vote by Mail

If you have a Vote by Mail ballot, you may want to keep in mind a deadline for mailing. According to City Clerk Garcia, there are three options for voters to ensure that their votes are counted on June 7.

“So first is to make sure that they vote their ballot and they mail it postmarked no later than election day.”

Additionally, a voter can drop off their Vote by Mail ballot at an early voting location. “In Long beach, Long Beach city voters can go to the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorders office in Norwalk to drop off their Vote by Mail Ballot.”

Starting on May 28th, Long Beach voters can drop off their Vote by Mail ballots at the City Clerk’s office at City Hall.

We saw some Facebook posts about voters not yet receiving their Vote by Mail ballots. There’s still time to get them. “If a voter has signed up for a Vote by Mail ballot and still not received it, there’s a couple of things they can do.”

“One is to go to LAVote.Net and check the status of their Vote by Mail ballot.”

Finding Lost Vote by Mail Ballots

The LA Registrar-Recorder’s office has a Vote by Mail tracking application available on their website that allows voters to check the status of their ballot.

“The second place to check is to call the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder’s office or to call my office and speak with an operator and ask the status of their Vote by Mail ballot.”

For those who have not yet signed up for Vote by Mail, your time really is running out. “The last date to apply to vote by mail is May 30th.” Voters can apply online at LAVote.net. City Clerk Garcia says that’s the quickest and easiest way to apply for Vote by Mail.

Bigger Deadline Approaching

Another deadline looming even closer is May 23rd. That one is for those who may want to change their registration e.g. change their political party affiliation.

“Reregistering to vote would be in those instances where you are changing your mailing address or resident address, changing your political party affiliation or making changes to your legal name.”

Voters can register online at the Secretary of State’s website, registertovote.ca.gov. The application is online in English and your choice of nine other languages.