Deadline to register to vote is Monday

10/18/08

San Mateo County's chief elections officer is reminding citizens to register to vote by Monday to avoid missing what many have called the most important election in decades.

To make things convenient, the county elections office will be open until 8 p.m. Monday, Warren Slocum said. The office is located at 40 Tower Road in San Mateo.

In addition, voter registration cards are available at public libraries, post offices, city halls and state DMV offices, Slocum said.

Residents may also register online at www.sos.ca.gov/elections/votereg1.html.

Those planning to vote for the first time must register, and previous voters who've moved, changed their names, or changed their political party affiliations also must register.

As many as 4,000 residents are typically turned away when they try to vote without valid registration or re-registration in major elections, according to David Tom, the county elections manager.

"I am very excited because it's a historical election," Tom said. "We are choosing the leader of the world, the president of the United States — either the first African-American president, or the first president who was a prisoner of war since Andrew Jackson."

Added Carol Marks, communications director for the county elections office, "If you do not get registered, you do not have the opportunity to make your voice, preference and values count."

The number of registered voters in the county has increased by nearly 20,000 since the Feb. 5 primary election, Tom said. As of Friday, there are 377,878 registered voters in the county — more than ever before.

The county elections office is expecting as many as 80 percent of registered voters to cast their ballots this year. That would be an increase over the 78 percent who voted in the last presidential election in 2004, Marks said.

To be eligible to register in San Mateo County, potential voters must be a citizen of the United States; a San Mateo County resident; at least 18 years old on election day; not in prison or on parole for the conviction of a felony; not deemed by a court to be mentally incompetent.

For more information, contact the elections office at 650-312-5222.

Printer friendly version.