Weekend voting

The latest pre-relection voter registration totals from Santa Cruz County showed a late surge in registered voters, falling just short of the 2012 record.
Results reported to the Secretary of State showed 157,209 voters in the county, compared to the record number of voters, 158,641, in the last presidential election year.
The latest numbers also showed a continuing trend of “No Party Preference” voters in the county, with nearly 23 percent of all registered voters. The Republican ranks slipped further, to just over 15 percent of the electorate, while the percentage of registered Democrats growing to nearly 57 percent.
In Scotts Valley, which faces contested races in the City Council, school board and fire district races, recorded 8,007 voters in the city, and 12, 597 in the school district, which covers a wide geographical area. The fire district is even larger, and has 13,097 registered voters.
Voting can be added to your list of things to do this weekend since the Santa Cruz County Clerk/Elections Department and Watsonville City Clerk’s Office will be open for voting from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 5 and 6.
“Weekend voting offers busy voters a convenient time to vote,” County Clerk Gail Pellerin said.
In California, voting began 29 days before an election. Both the Santa Cruz County Clerk’s Office and Watsonville City Clerk’s Office have been operating as vote centers during regular business hours.
Both offices offer special Saturday and Sunday hours on the weekend prior to the election. Voters may vote from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. this weekend at the Santa Cruz County Clerk/Elections Department, located at 701 Ocean Street in Santa Cruz or in Watsonville at 275 Main Street, top floor, in the Community Room.
Santa Cruz County voters who have obtained a vote-by-mail ballot for the Presidential General Election may return their ballot to any polling place in the county no later than 8 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 8.
Ballots must be returned to the county who issued the ballot. Ballots may also be dropped off at one of several drop boxes in the county available 24/7 up to 8 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 8. Ballots dropped off at the drop boxes do not require postage. Postage is paid for voters who are returning their ballot by mail.
The drop box locations is at 1 Civic Center Drive, Scotts Valley City Hall parking lot.
As of Tuesday just over 30,000 of the more than 100,000 vote-by-mail ballots issued to voters had been returned, election officials said.