March 12, 2008 - Over 900 provisional ballots cast in primary

Paper: Redwood Times (CA)
Title: Over 900 provisional ballots cast in primary
Date: March 12, 2008

According to Humboldt County Elections Manager Kelly Sanders, 946 provisional ballots were cast in the February 5 primary. Sanders says that not all of them were found to be valid voters, but the majority were valid.

Counting provisional ballots requires elections staff to research each ballot to determine the correct precinct for the voter and to establish identification. Kelly says that most provisional ballots are cast because people change their physical address and forget to re-register. She says the state monitors voter registrations throughout the state and if a voter registered in one county re-registers in another county, the state notifies the previous election department of the change.

Voters who do not vote in two consecutive federal or presidential elections names are placed on an “inactive” voter roster. If voters on the inactive list show up at the polls, their name is returned to the active voter list, but if they go several federal elections without voting , their name may be removed.

Sanders says there was a lot of confusion about Non-Partisan voters in the February primary. Non-Partisan voters are sometimes allowed to cross party lines in a primary. In the February primary, NP voters were allowed to vote in either the Democratic or American Independent primaries. She says a number of NP voters appeared at the polls wanting to vote in the Republican primary. At that election , however, the Republicans opted not to allow NP participation.

However, she says, in the upcoming June 3 primary for state offices and representatives, the Republican party will allow NP voters to express a preference on its slate of candidates, as will the Democrats and American Independents.

So far, she says, this county has not rejected any new registrants, but they have had to confirm identities as required under the Help America Vote Act (HAVA). The deadline for registering to vote in the June 3 primary is 15 days prior to the election . Voters can register at the Elections Office on the County Complex on Harris in Eureka. They can also request a registration form from the post office.