Press releases are posted on Independent.com as a free community service.
(SANTA BARBARA, Calif.) – Santa Barbara County Elections Division is notifying voters that the Official Ballot Drop Box serving the UCSB and Isla Vista areas has been relocated from the IV Sheriff Foot Patrol Station to the Student Resource Building located on the UCSB Campus.
The Student Resource Building is accessible from the Pardall Tunnel and from Parking Lots 22 and 23 off Ocean Road. The box will be open 24 hours a day, through 8:00 p.m. on Election Day, November 8, 2022. The County Elections Division installed secure ballot drop boxes throughout the county to assist voters in the safe and secure return of their voted ballot directly to our office.
Voters who want to return their ballot at a ballot drop box should only use official county ballot drop boxes that are clearly recognizable, designed to meet state standards for security, and bear the official Santa Barbara County Elections Division logo. Santa Barbara County’s Official Ballot Drop Boxes are shown here.
The public can view images and addresses of the 30 official Santa Barbara County Elections Division ballot drop boxes at SBCVote.com or can find a list of early voting locations throughout California at https://caearlyvoting.sos.ca.gov/
Please help us protect the rights of all registered voters to cast their ballot. It is a crime to tamper with Official Ballot Drop Boxes, electioneer within 100 feet of a ballot drop box or intimidate voters attempting to return ballots to the ballot drop box. We ask the public’s assistance in identifying potential illegal activity at the ballot drop boxes by notifying our office at 1-800-SBC-VOTE or 1-800-722-8683. Illegal activity includes but is not limited to electioneering or voter intimidation.
Tips for Voters:
- Make a plan to vote. You can return your Vote by Mail ballot by mail using the prepaid postage ballot return envelope or by bringing it to any Official Ballot Drop Box, voting location, or county elections office.
- You can also choose someone to return your ballot on your behalf. If choosing to have someone return your ballot on your behalf, it is recommended that you choose someone you trust to return your ballot. You and the other person must sign the back of the ballot return envelope. Never give your ballot to someone else unless you have completed, signed the return envelope, and sealed the ballot in the return envelope.
- Don’t forget to sign the ballot return envelope before returning the ballot. All returned Vote by Mail ballot envelopes have a unique barcode that ties the ballot return envelope to the voter and is used to lookup and verify the voter’s signature on their return envelope to their signature on their voter record.
- Sign up for ballot tracking at https://california.ballottrax.net/voter/ to get automatic notifications by text message (SMS), email, or voice message about the status of your Vote by Mail ballot. Voters will be notified when the local elections office receives the ballot, when it has been verified to be counted, and if there are any issues with the ballot, such as the voter did not sign the return envelope.
- Get information on voting from trusted official sources – the Santa Barbara County Elections Division and the California Secretary of State. Resources for Santa Barbara County voters are available at SBCVote.com. The Secretary of State has resources for California voters at vote.ca.gov.