Ballots are already beginning to trickle into the San Mateo County elections office as eager-beaver voters beat the rush to get their ballots in the mail.
But voters who cast their ballots the old-fashioned way — in a precinct — may notice changes, as the county shifts from its fast, reliable old voting machines to new eSlate machines that meet recent federal and state requirements to make voting easy for people with disabilities.
While each of the county’s 482 precincts will have one eSlate machine for people who need them or who want to try them, most voters will fill out conventional paper ballots. And these will be counted by hand.
The biggest change will be in the speed of counting votes. San Mateo County has always prided itself on being among the fastest in the state to announce its results; this year it may be 4 a.m. Nov. 8 before the last vote is counted.
The county had planned to convert entirely to the eSlate machines for Nov. 7. Delays in certification and the monumental challenge of training 2,500 poll workers to help voters use the complicated machines — not to mention a long ballot — persuaded voting officials to phase in the new machines more slowly.
“My primary concern will always be the integrity of the election,” said Chief Elections Officer Warren Slocum.
Meanwhile, the countdown to the election is moving fast. The period for absentee voting opened Oct. 10.
Monday, Oct. 23, is the last day to register. Registration forms are available at local libraries, town halls and post offices.
Turnout of the county’s 350,000-plus voters is hard to predict, said Elections Manager David Tom. The average turnout in a gubernatorial election is 56 to 65 percent.
As more people vote absentee, or sign up for permanent absentee status, the percentage of absentee ballots is creeping up past one third of all votes cast. “I expect at least 35 percent,” Mr. Tom said.
To encourage young people to vote, the county is “aggressively recruiting” high school seniors to work at the polls, Mr. Tom said. He hopes some 500 students from all over the county will be on hand Nov. 7 to help other voters.
The elections office cannot actually count the absentee ballots before the polls close at 8 p.m. on Nov. 7, Mr. Tom said. But they can prepare the ballots for machine counting ahead of time by opening them, confirming the voter, sorting by precinct, and scanning them.
“We get everything queued up, but don’t count them until the polls close,” Mr. Tom said. “We’ll have results by 8:05 p.m. Our first release is absentee ballots, about 50,000 to 60,000.”
