Here’s what you need to know on Election Day in Stanislaus County
More than 40 percent of registered voters in Stanislaus County have cast their mail ballots for today’s election.
That is the result of early voting in the countywide mail election being conducted under California’s coronavirus guidelines.
To prepare for ballots arriving in the final days before today’s election, the county Registrar of Voters office opened satellite offices in the county and its nine cities, and also will have drive-up locations for turning in ballots from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. today. That’s in addition to 16 ballot drop boxes at indoor locations around the county and two outdoor boxes.
Mailing a ballot at this point is not recommended because ballots must be postmarked on or before Nov. 3. The cutoff for dropping off a ballot is 8 p.m. Tuesday.
The satellite offices provide assistance for disabled voters or people with language barriers. They also assist voters who misplaced or damaged their ballot.
Donna Linder, county registrar of voters, said last week that 115,471 or 43 percent of the ballots mailed to Stanislaus County voters in early October had been returned. It’s far more than the 72,860 returned mail ballots at the same point before the 2016 presidential election.
As of Sept. 4, the county had 268,315 registered voters, including 103,875 Democrats and 95,485 Republicans, according to the California Secretary of State.
Satellite offices open
A couple dozen satellite offices are open Election Day from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Use them for dropping off a completed ballot, for conditional registration or special assistance with voting. A satellite near you is listed on your sample ballot or at stanvote.com.
Here are locations:
Ceres: Ceres American Legion Hall, 2609 Lawrence St.
Denair: Denair Community Center, 3850 N. Gratton Road
Empire: Teel Middle School, 5255 First St.
Hughson: United Samaritans Foundation, 2413 Third St.
Keyes: Keyes Community Center, 5506 Jennie Ave.
Modesto: American Legion Hall, 1021 S. Santa Cruz Ave; Century Center, 2401 E. Orangeburg Ave.; Grace Davis High, 1200 W. Rumble Road; Mancini Senior Hall, 718 Tuolumne Blvd.; Modesto CSA StanWORKS, 251 E. Hackett Road; Princeton Event Center, 1640 Princeton Ave.; Stanislaus SELPA, 1404 Stonum Road; Sylvan Improvement Center, 2545 Sylvan Ave.
Salida: Salida Library, 4835 Sisk Road
Newman: Newman Memorial Building, 649 Orestimba Road
Oakdale: Gene Bianchi Community Center, 110 S. 2nd St.; Stanislaus Culinary Arts Institute, 1040 Wakefield Ave.
Patterson: Patterson Joint Unified School District, 530 Keystone Blvd.
Riverbank: Community Center, 3600 Santa Fe St.; TelecContact Resource Services, 6436 Oakdale Road
Turlock: Ten Pin Fun Center, 3700 Countryside Drive; Stanislaus County Fairgrounds, 2618 N. Golden State Blvd.; Assyrian American Civic Club, 2618 N. Golden State Blvd.; Turlock CSA EPIC Center, 275 3rd. St.
Waterford: Waterford Community Center, 540 C St.
Other ballot drop locations
Modesto: CSA StanWORKS, 251 E. Hackett Road; O’Brien’s Market, 829 W. Roseburg Ave; O’Brien’s Market, 4120 Dale Road; Postal Connections, 1700 McHenry Ave., Suite 658; Postal Connections, 3430 Tully Road, Suite 20
Riverbank: O’Brien’s Market, 6331 Oakdale Road
Turlock: CSA South County Service Center, 1310 W. Main St.
- City Halls
Oakdale: 280 N. 3rd Ave.
Turlock: 156 S. Broadway
Waterford: 101 E. St.
- 24-Hour Locations
Modesto: Elections Main Office, 1021 I St.
Oakdale: Burchell Nursery, 12000 Highway 120
- Curbside Drop-Off
Modesto: Gallo Center for the Arts, 1000 I St.; John Thurman Field, 601 Neece Drive
Oakdale: Stanislaus Culinary Arts Institute, 1040 Wakefield Drive
Turlock: CSU Stanislaus, 1 University Circle; Turlock Silvercrest Senior Residence, 865 Lander Ave.
You can still register to vote
If you missed the 15-day deadline for voter registration, you can still conditionally register to vote in this election. The county Election Office will process and count your ballot after registration is verified. Find a satellite office near you at https://caearlyvoting.sos.ca.gov/ or contact the county Election Office at 1021 I St., suite 101, Modesto.
How do I vote by mail?
Mark your ballot by darkening the box next to your preferred candidate or “Yes” or “No” on the propositions. Insert the ballot in the provided envelope, and sign your name and put your address on the envelope. Then drop it in the mail or take it to one of the drop boxes listed above.
Information on candidates?
Subscribers to The Modesto Bee can access detailed information regarding the local races and candidates through The Bee’s Voter Guide, available by going online to modbee.com and clicking on “Voter Guide”. All of the local election stories also are housed there, along with questionnaires filled out by the candidates themselves.
Who should I vote for?
That’s obviously up to you, but The Modesto Bee’s Editorial Board has listed endorsements for candidates for various offices and propositions. The Bee also conducted Zoom video debates with candidates in key races. They answered several questions from editors, and that might be a good starting point to get to know who’s running. We also have several stories on races. You can go to our election section at modbee.com/news/politics-government/election.
Do you still get a sticker?
It’s a little thing, but for many people the “I Voted” sticker is a sign of pride that they have done their civic duty. And even though you can’t vote in person, you can still get one. It’s attached to the green sheet that includes directions in your mail-in ballot.
This story was originally published October 31, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
