Staff Report
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San Jose
The Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters’ Office began mailing Permanent Vote by Mail Applications to about 300,000 registered voters this week, which may find some welcoming arms in Gilroy.
During the November election, more than 75 percent of ballots were delivered absentee in Gilroy, either through the mail or dropped off at a polling place, according to the final Santa Clara County election results. Of the 6,088 ballots cast in Gilroy, 4,604 were via absentee ballots
The mailing is part of the Registrar’s ongoing campaign to increase voters’ awareness of the Permanent Vote by Mail Program, formerly called Permanent Absentee Voting. Since 2002 the number of voters registered as Permanent Vote by Mail in the county has grown from 9,000 to more than 364,000. The county’s goal is to have 500,000 Permanent Vote by Mail voters by next year’s November Presidential General Election.
Voting by Mail’s popularity is due largely to its convenience and security. It allows voters to cast their ballots from the comfort of home whenever it fits their busy schedules. It also gives voters the security of knowing that all Vote by Mail return envelopes are signature-verified to protect the integrity of the election.
Permanent Vote by Mail is an option available to all registered voters, and signing up is easy.
Voters who receive the application in the mail only have to sign the postage-paid reply card and drop it in the mail. The application is being sent to all registered voters who do not currently have Permanent Vote by Mail status.
The Permanent Vote by Mail Application is also available online at www.sccvote.org or from the Registrar’s Office, 1555 Berger Drive, Building 2, San Jose.
