Herrera suggested that those with mail-in ballots use two 39 cent stamps when they return the ballot: “I weighed it” to determine the postage. Elsewhere in California, some counties are expecting ballot-mailing costs of up to 89 cents, but Ventura County seems to have gotten away a tad cheaper with a few less voter decided issues.For those visiting the polls on Tuesday - and avoiding any issues with pens - there are plenty of workers on hand, said Herrera. “We did have some announcements on Channel 10 we’re always looking for bilingual poll workers,” who responded to the advertising. “And, we do get a lot of workers from the Santa Paula Union High School student program. We’ll be fully staffed on election day and have substitutes” available in case of absent workers. “For future elections, I encourage people to leave their name and number with me and I’ll forward it to the County Elections Division.”Overall, Herrera urged that all those registered “Remember to vote... if you don’t know your polling location, call me” at 933-4208. And if you enjoy Election Night activities, be sure to come to City Hall on November 7.“We’ll be open after 8 p.m. and people are welcome to come, welcome to bring a treat to share if they like,” as they watch the results come in. But you can stay home and be current: “We’ll also post the results as they come in on Cable Channel 10 and the city Website.”Herrera expects Tuesday’s turnout to be higher than June’s special election, which topped 50 percent.
Mail-in ballots: gel pens should not be used, extra postage required
November 03, 2006
Santa Paula News
Those increasingly popular but still ambiguous gel pens might just be Public Enemy Number 1 for the November 7 General Election, at least for those absentee voters who wouldn’t know a gel from the conventional ballpoint.
By Peggy KellySanta Paula TimesThose increasingly popular but still ambiguous gel pens might just be Public Enemy Number 1 for the November 7 General Election, at least for those absentee voters who wouldn’t know a gel from the conventional ballpoint. Oh, and be sure to affix extra postage.Although Ventura County’s absentee ballots - now used by an ever-growing number of voters - note that the lines filling in the arrows pointing to the voters’ choice must not be subjected to marker or gel pens, only ballpoint, many people do not realize the difference when it comes to the gels. Technology aside, the difference between the two is the possibility of ink bleeding through the other side of the ballot, said City Clerk Josie Herrera, who notified the Ventura County Elections Division when contacted about the gel pen issue.Ventura County notes that voters must use black or blue ballpoint pen only, but “If people use the gel pens by mistake, they can try to get a duplicate ballot on Election Day or send it in as is. The machine will kick it out and the ballot will be manually counted. I’m sure the Elections Division was trying to think of everything that could possibly go wrong, and just as a precaution recommended no gel pens.”So it’s official: the gel pen might slow the process, but not topple the Democracy.Markers are the most obvious wrong choice, but the easiest to avoid. Markers are clearly labeled as such, but gel pens, well, it’s not always obvious, with the conventional clicker and all.
