El Dorado County voters can cast ballots in person starting Saturday, Oct. 24, at three vote centers that opened across the county for early voting ahead of the Nov. 3 midterm election.
The centers at the El Dorado Hills Library, Placerville Library and Lake Tahoe Community College are the first to open under the county's 11-day early voting window, according to the El Dorado County Elections Department. Hours run 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. through Monday, Nov. 2. On Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 3, all centers will be open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
El Dorado County is one of 30 California counties participating in the Voter's Choice Act, which allows vote centers to open 10 days before Election Day, KCRA 3 reported. Voters at any center can cast a ballot in person, drop off a mail-in ballot, register to vote or update their voter information.
Ten more vote centers open Saturday, Oct. 31, for a four-day window. Local sites include El Dorado Hills Fire Station #85 at 1050 Wilson Boulevard and the El Dorado Hills Fire Training Center at 4640 Golden Foothill Parkway. Cameron Park residents can vote at the Cameron Park Community Services District office at 2502 Country Club Drive.
Other four-day locations include Pioneer Park Community Center in Somerset, Diamond Springs Firefighters Memorial Hall, Placerville Town Hall, the El Dorado County Child Support Conference Room in Shingle Springs, California Conservation Corps sites in Greenwood and South Lake Tahoe, and Pollock Pines Community Center.
Those four-day centers are also open 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. through Nov. 2, with Election Day hours of 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Voters who missed the Oct. 19 registration deadline can still register and vote the same day at any vote center, CBS News Sacramento reported. California allows conditional voter registration through Election Day.
Ballot drop boxes have been open since Oct. 2 and will close at 8 p.m. on Nov. 3, according to the county elections department. Two drop boxes sit at the Elections Office at 3883 Ponderosa Road in Shingle Springs, one drive-up and one walk-up, both available around the clock.
The League of Women Voters of El Dorado County is also recruiting nonpartisan election observers to serve short shifts at vote centers during the early voting period. Elizabeth Leslie-Gassaway, president of the league, said in an Oct. 6 Mountain Democrat news release that observers have "a unique opportunity to learn about the election process from the inside …"
The El Dorado County Elections Department can be reached at 530-621-7480 or 800-730-4322.
