Election 2004: Registration soars -- voting starts Election 2004: Registration soars -- voting starts (October 27, 2004)

Election 2004 is already under way in San Mateo County. On Tuesday, October 26 -- just one week before election day -- election workers started processing absentee ballots.

As of October 22, the elections office had recorded 357,213 registered voters, an all-time high. With 1,400 new registrations coming in every day, the tally of registered voters passed the 1996 record of 355,053 on Saturday, October 16, at 2:14 p.m., said Chief Elections Officer Warren Slocum. Registration closed October 18.

The use of absentee ballots has soared since 2001 when the law took effect allowing any registered voter to apply for permanent status as an absentee voter. The 4,500 permanent absentee voters on the rolls that year has swelled to 125,000 this year, more than a third of all the county's registered voters.

While absentee ballots are being opened and counted starting October 26, the results cannot be tallied until the close of the polls election day, November 2, at 8 p.m., according to Mr. Slocum.

State law also allows the public to attend and observe the opening and counting of absentee and provisional ballots, both before and after the election, Mr. Slocum noted.

The official canvass of election results must start no later than Thursday following the election and is open to the public. Anyone interested in watching the process at election headquarters, 40 Tower Road in San Mateo, should contact the elections manager at 312-5222.

Party affiliation

No one is likely to be surprised that San Mateo County is still heavily Democratic in the new registration figures. Countywide, Democrats outstrip Republicans by almost 2 to 1, or 175,460 to 92,491 -- 49 percent to 26 percent.

Only in Atherton, Woodside and Hillsborough do Republicans have an edge over Democrats. And in Portola Valley, Democrats are ahead by a slim 47 voters - 1,366 to 1,319.

The next most popular party is "Decline to State" at 74,726, or 21 percent of voters.

Other parties show far lower registrations in the county: American Independent, 6,462; Green, 4,026; Libertarian, 1,730; Natural Law, 427; Peace and Freedom, 914; and miscellaneous parties, 977.

For information

On election day, Tuesday, November 2, polls open at 7 a.m. and close at 8 p.m. Absentee ballots may be turned in on election day until closing time at polling places, local city halls, or county election offices.

Chief Elections Officer Warren Slocum suggests that before election day, people confirm their polling place address and make sure they are registered and know how to vote.

Check county and state voter information booklets. Information is also available on the county's Web site, www.shapethefuture.org, and the League of Women Voters' site, www.smartvoter.org.

At smartvoter.org, you can enter your address and get your polling place address and information about the candidates and measures on your ballot.

Bush-Cheney sign stolen in Portola Valley

Civilized behavior -- and its opposite -- are no respecters of economic class, as was made evident last week in Portola Valley when someone seems to have stolen a Bush-Cheney sign from a front yard on Westridge Drive.

"There were lots of Kerry signs and no Bush signs, so I thought I'd put one out there," said the resident, who preferred not to be identified for this story.

To acquire the sign, she had made a donation to the Republican campaign. "I don't see any Bush-Cheney signs and I'm wondering if this is why," she said. "I guess I should have someone climb up a tree and put it up really high."

Taking a yard sign is petty theft, said Lt. Ken Jones of the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office.

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