LW choices: Ballot drop box or Oct. 30 pop-up voting center

OC VOTE 2020

Because of the ongoing pandemic, local voters’ options to participate in the Nov. 3 election will be either low-contact or no-contact, according to the Orange County Registrar’s Office.

In-person voting will include masks, social distancing and other precautions, but everyone also will get an already-stamped mail ballot they can send back or deposit at any drop box or vote center.

Most voters will likely choose to vote at home, as eight out of 10 voters in the March primary used a mail ballot, and the OC Registrar expects at least the same percentage to do so in the general election.

In Leisure World, a permanent ballot drop box has already arrived for the convenience of voters here. The drop box is located near the bus stop at the Amphitheater, next to the U.S. Mailbox. It is accessible to drivers, pedestrians and those in mobility vehicles.

Ballots will be mailed starting the week of Oct. 5, the same day that the ballot box will be unlocked to receive votes, according to to Espie Martinez, the vote center support lead for the Registrar’s Office. The Ballot Drop Box is a secure and locked receptacle where voters can drop off their vote-by-mail ballots in the same manner they would at a U.S. mailbox.

Election officials from the Registar’s Office will pick up ballots as needed, sometimes daily as Election Day draws near. Ballots will be delivered directly to its facility, an expedited process that uses no outside entities that might delay or otherwise compromise receipt of ballots.

Ballot drop boxes are one of many newer ways voters will be able to cast their ballots since the Orange County Registrar of Voters, the agency that oversees elections, has shifted to Vote Center elections.

Starting this year, LW voters will no longer report to clubhouse polling stations to cast ballots on Election Day. Instead, every one of the county’s roughly 1.6 million registered voters will receive a vote-by-mail ballot.

Voters will be able to mail in their ballots (no postage necessary), drop them off at any Vote Center located within the County, or place them inside a secure ballot drop box. These options offer more flexibility, access and convenience when casting votes.

As an additional voting choice for those who prefer to vote in person, GRF will be hosting a one-day Voting Popup Center on Oct. 30 at the circle between clubhouses 3 and 4. People can also vote in person at Orange County Fire Station No. 48 on Northgate Road, and there is another permanent ballot drop box located at Mary Wilson Library, 707 Electric Ave, Seal Beach.

There will be plenty of COVID-19-related precautions. The number of people allowed inside vote centers at any given time will be limited, with markings on the floor for proper distancing and voting booths spaced apart.

Hand sanitizer will be available near entrances and exits. Face coverings will be given to whoever needs one. The Registrar’s Office ordered 300,000 pens for filling out ballots so nobody has to share (and voters have a souvenir to take home). Even the “I voted” stickers will be distributed by hands-free dispensers.

For additional information, contact the Recreation Department at kathyt@lwsb.com.