DON'T MAIL ABSENTEE BALLOTS !!!

San Diego -- If you still have your absentee ballot (now called a Mail Ballot), DO NOT MAIL IT!

Ballots MUST be received at the Registrar of Voters (ROV) office no later than midnight on election day, Nov. 4th.

There is a good chance that an absentee ballot will not be delivered in time by the post office, so do NOT mail it.

And, it is the date it is RECEIVED by the Registrar of Voters office that counts, NOT the date of the postmark.

While county offices are not normally open on Saturday and Sunday; because of the election, the ROV's office will be open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. today (Saturday 11/1), tomorrow (Sunday) and Monday.

Over 10,000 people so far have voted in person at the ROV's office, located at 5201 Ruffin Road (off Clairemon Mesa Blvd.). For more information, call the ROV office at (858) 565-5800. Dozens of ROV staffers are answering that phone number.

About 245,000 have voted by mail. But, do NOT use the mail anymore. You vote will not be counted if it arrives at the ROV's office after Nov. 4th. That's state law, not a decision of some local bureaucrat.

In addition to delivering your absentee (Mail) ballot to the ROV's office, it can be delivered to ANY election precinct on election day, Nov. 4th. They all have a small American flag outside. You do not have to leave it at your own precinct. ANY precinct will accept it, with only one specific limitation - described below.

However, if you live outside San Diego county, your absentee ballot must be delivered to a precinct in you home county. For example, someone living in Orange County cannot drop off their absentee ballot at a San Diego election precinct.

SOME MYTHS ABOUT THE ELECTION:

You do NOT need photo ID to vote in California.

There is only one exception to that rule. The ONLY time a poll worker will ask a voter for ID is when the voter did not provide ID at the time they registered. Their name on the Roster of Voters used by the poll workers will indicate a "ID" is required.

Any current, valid photo ID is acceptable: driver's license or state ID card, a passport, employee ID card, student ID, insurance ID card and others.

Other acceptable forms of ID are a utility bill with the voter's name and address, a bank statement, vehicle registration and about a dozen, similar IDs. The list is long.

Even if the voter has NONE those those ID's, they can still vote PROVISIONALLY.

At this election on Nov. 4th, no San Diego county resident over 18 will be turned away at an election precinct.

If that happens to you or a friend, immediatelty call the ROV's office at (858) 565-5800. A troubleshooter from the ROV's office will come quickly to the precinct where you are encountering problems voting.

It is a serious crime for anyone - including a poll worker - to improperly deny the right of a citizen to vote in this election.

More information about your rights to vote can be obtained by calling SAN DIEGO NEWS SERVICE at (617) 757-4909 days, (and [619] 220-8686 from midnight to 6 a.m.)

It's easy to call and protect your voting rights!
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Copyright 2008 by San Diego News Service (619) 757-4909 leopowerhere@msn.com