MARIN VOTES
August 2011
COLLEEN’S COLUMN
By Colleen Ksanda / Precinct Coordinator
Every countywide election, the Elections Office mails poll worker recruitment letters to our current pool of poll workers and to Marin voters who have expressed an interest in working at the polls. Most of our poll workers are assigned to polling places from the postcards that are returned to us from this mailing. But there are always some precincts that have more positions open than we can fill from the response postcards, so after the deadline to respond to our mailing we send additional poll worker recruitment notices to households with voters living in those targeted precincts.
You can help with this process in the following
ways:
- Return your response post card promptly.
- Be sure to write your name on the post card.
- Make sure that the people you write on your card are available to work before you write their names on the post card.
- Call us by mid September if you do not receive an assignment letter by then.
Finally, go to training! Voters’ experience at the polls has everything to do with poll workers who understand all of the Election Day processes and procedures covered in the training classes.
To those of you who have helped out at the polls over the years – Thank you! We could not make it through elections without each and every one of our poll workers, and we’ll be counting on your help again this November 8th and for elections in 2012.
NOVEMBER 2, 2010 GENERAL ELECTION TURNOUT
Number of registered voters: 151,876
Total turnout: 76.17%
Number of voters voting at the polls: 45,853 (30.2%)
Number of vote by mail voters: 69,832 (46.0%)
Number of poll workers: 683
Number of polling places: 104
A total of 3996 ballots were voted provisionally on Election Day. After verification, 3465 (86%) of those ballots were determined to be valid and were included in the final tally.
REGISTRATION REPORT
As of February 10, 2011, the Secretary of State reported that Marin had 147,022 registered voters, out of 184,020 eligible (79.9%).
Registration by political party:
Democratic: 80,675 (54.9%)
Republican: 28,424 (19.3%)
American Independent: 2,762 (1.9%)
Green: 2,072 (1.4%)
Libertarian: 761 (.5%)
Peace and Freedom: 228 (.2%)
No party preference: 32,100 (21.8%)
NEW PRECINCT BOUNDARY LINES
After the 2010 reapportionment and redistricting, when California’s political boundary lines were redrawn, Marin’s supervisorial districts were adjusted to balance out populations, and our precincts were redrawn to follow US Census boundaries.
The Elections Department will notify all voters of their new precinct and polling place and their voting options for the June 5, 2012 Primary Election.
REDISTRICTING IN MARIN COUNTY
Marin County is divided into 5 supervisorial districts. Presently, Marin is in California’s 3rd state Senate district, which also includes half of San Francisco and half of Sonoma County. Marin and southern Sonoma County make up the 6th state Assembly district, and Marin and most of Sonoma County share California’s 6th Congressional district.
Candidates for county and state offices are elected by district and they are required to live in the district they represent. Each district has 1 representative. County Supervisors and state Senator’s terms of office are 4 years. State Assembly and Congressional terms are 2 years.
Districts are apportioned on the basis of the state’s population. After every census (every 10 years) the legislative boundaries for congress, assembly, senate, supervisor, city council, school and community college trustee are redrawn using current census population data to create districts of near-equal population to provide for fair representation.
In April, after the 2010 census results were released, the 14-member independent Citizens Redistricting aCommission began drawing new district maps for California’s 53 congressional, 80 assembly, 40 senate and 4 Board of Equalization Districts. The deadline for the Commission to submit the new district boundary maps to the Secretary of State is August 15, 2011.
Each voter received 3 ballots, each with one contest. One was for the different parties running for representation in the parliament and the other two were for local elections. After voting, voters put their ballots into a clear, locked ballot box in the
middle of the polling place where everyone could see it.
The Marin County Board of Supervisors is responsible for adjusting supervisorial district boundaries within the county. Other districts that have trustee areas or divisions such as the County Board of Education and the Marin Municipal Water District are responsible for adjusting their boundary lines. As a result of these changes, some voters may have new precincts and may be reassigned to new polling places for statewide elections in 2012.
The deadline for the Board of Supervisor’s boundary revisions is November 1, 2011, and the Registrar of Voters’ goal is to complete the revisions to the precinct boundaries by December 1, 2011.
IN MEMORY OF SUPERVISOR, CHARLES MCGLASHAN
On March 27, 2011, Marin County’s 3rd District Supervisor, Charles McGlashan, died from heart failure at the age of 49. At the time of his passing, he was the county Board of Supervisors’ Vice President and the youngest of Marin’s 5 supervisors. He had served on the Board since 2005.
While serving on the Board, Supervisor McGlashan was involved in the formation of SMART, the Marin Economic Forum and the Marin Energy Authority. He is credited for writing legislation banning polystyrene food take-out containers and single-use plastic bags. He was also an advocate for affordable housing in Marin.
The County of Marin has a website page dedicated to Mr. McGlashan. It highlights his accomplishments and describes him as an environmentalist and a visionary leader. In keeping with his commitment to environmental issues, the webpage suggests some ways to honor his memory such as pick up trash along your hiking trail, walk, use a bicycle, take public transportation, or carpool, and bring a reusable bag when you shop. For more information, visit: www.co.marin.ca.us/depts/BS/main/sups/sdistr3/index.cfm
On May 22, Governor Jerry Brown appointed a replacement to fill Supervisor McGlashan’s post for the remainder of the term, which ends in January 2013.
MARIN VOTES NEWSLETTER
If you have a story you want included in the next newsletter, please contact our Editor, email or phone 415-473-6439 Colleen Ksanda.
MARK YOUR CALENDARS FOR THESE ELECTION DATES IN 2012
Local jurisdictions may call an election for an established election date no later than 88 days before Election Day. We mail Poll worker recruitment letters 3 to 4 months prior to each scheduled election date.
- February 7, 2012 Presidential Primary (May be combined with June’s Primary Election)
- April 10, 2012 Special Election (No election is scheduled at this time)
- June 5, 2012 Direct Primary Election
- November 6, 2012 Presidential General Election