Mail-In Voting Gets Mixed Results

SACRAMENTO —  Stanislaus County’s much-watched Election Day test of mail-in balloting had mixed results.

Election officials in the rural Northern California county are pleased, even though the 34.5% turnout (60,129 ballots mailed in) was about 5% less than expected, said Stanislaus County Clerk Karen Mathews, a proponent of the new system.

“It may not have been an earth-shattering turnout,” Mathews said, “but it’s not too bad either. It would have been nicer to have a higher turnout, but the project was a success, and it saved us money. I’m not unhappy about it.”

Several counties of similar population that used the traditional polling system had higher turnouts. Voter turnout in other counties with 100,000 to 200,000 registered voters (Stanislaus has 174,201 registered voters) included 44.8% in Marin, 42.9% in Butte, 42.6% in Placer, 42% in Santa Cruz, 41.6% in San Luis Obispo, 39% in Solano, 38.9% in Monterey and 33.9% in Tulare. The statewide voter turnout was 34%.

Mathews said she will recommend to the Legislature that other counties be given the option of switching to the all-mail ballot system but said she will not recommended it on a statewide basis.

Stanislaus County’s turnout will increase a few percentage points when the final tally is completed, she said.

“There were no glitches,” Mathews said. “A few voters complained, but we have those in every election.”