LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Lake County Registrar of Voters Maria Valadez updated the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday about her department’s work to prepare for the Nov. 3 presidential election, which includes opening her office on some upcoming weekends in order to facilitate voting for county residents.
Valadez went before the board on Tuesday morning. Earlier in the meeting, her predecessor and mentor, Diane Fridley, the retired registrar, received a proclamation of commendation from the board for running the presidential primary in March. Valadez came back to take over the department in the spring, following the primary.
She also offered her thanks to Fridley during the meeting, noting, “I’ve learned a lot from you and I continue to learn.”
For the update to the board, Valadez was joined by her new deputy registrar, Lourdes Pantaleon.
Pantaleon stepped up after Jay Hatfield left the deputy registrar’s post over the summer. In December, Hatfield had arrived in Lake County from the Shawnee County Election Office in Topeka, Kansas, where he was the assistant director of voter services. He returned to Shawnee County in July to take over as its election manager, according to his LinkedIn profile.
Valadez said it’s hard to find someone with dedication and commitment and is grateful to have Pantaleon in the job.
She said people often ask her about election preparations. “They don’t realize that we’ve been preparing for the election since the primary ended.”
There was candidate filing in July, with all the school and special districts candidates signing up to run. By that point, Hatfield had left, and the elections office was down to just three staffers, including Valadez, Pantaleon and one other employee, Valadez said.
Valadez said one retired staffer came back to assist with polling place reservations and preparations, with an extra help employee working on poll worker recruitment.
“We’re on track,” she told the board.
“Our sample ballot booklets and official ballot booklets have been mailed,” Valadez said, explaining that on Monday 35,000 of those booklets were delivered to the San Francisco mail distribution center and so are out for mailing.
She said supplemental mailings for vote by mail – or absentee – ballots and sample ballot mailings will continue being sent out weekly until the last day the elections office can mail ballots, which is Oct. 27.
Valadez said the Registrar of Voters Office – located on the second floor of the Lake County Courthouse in Lakeport – is now open for voting through Election Day.
Regular office hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Thursday, but Valadez said they will be open on Friday, Oct. 16; Friday, Oct. 30; Saturday, Oct. 31; and Sunday, Nov. 1, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., so that residents can come in and vote. The office also answers the phones during business hours on Friday.
She said voters can return their vote by mail ballots in the postage-paid envelope provided by the county; there’s no need to add postage.
Valadez said the US Postal Service recommends people mail back ballots no later than Oct. 27 to make sure they reach the elections office in a timely manner.
She said voters also can choose to place their ballots in one of five secure ballot dropoff boxes installed last week and opened up on Monday morning.
One of the boxes is located in front of the Lakeport courthouse, with the rest of the boxes located at the county’s four libraries, Valadez said.
She said 22 polling place locations will be available on Election Day around Lake County. “They are completely staffed at this time. And strict COVID guidelines will be followed.”
Valadez reminded voters that, due to space restrictions, there will be a limit to the number of people allowed inside polling sites at one time to allow for social distancing and sanitizing procedures. She asked people to be patient and allow for the extra time needed because there will be delays when entering into polling places.
Regarding absentee ballots, “Voters can be reassured that we verify every signature on those ballots that come back into the office,” she said.
She said it’s a legal requirement that they compare signatures on vote by mail ballots to the voter’s legal signature on file. If election staffers feel that the voter’s signature doesn’t match, they will reach out to them, either to reregister or resign their ballot.
Valadez said voters can sign up for personalized text messages, emails or voicemails to track their ballot at http://wheresmyballot.sos.ca.gov.
She also reported that the last day to register to vote is Oct. 19. She said voter registration can take place online or at the Registrar of Voters Office, or via paper forms that can be picked up at the post office and county libraries.
Valadez encouraged people to contact the Registrar of Voters Office if they have questions, either by phone at 707-263-2372 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Board members thanked Valadez for her careful work and attention to detail, and for making additional efforts to open her office on the weekend.
Supervisor Bruno Sabatier asked for additional information about how long Valadez’s office has to clear up any questions about signatures on absentee ballots.
Valadez said she has up until two days before she’s required to certify the election on Dec. 3 to handle signature discrepancies on ballots.
Sabatier followed up by asking if ballots from the dropoff boxes are picked up daily and when the boxes can be used.
Valadez said they are available around the clock, seven days a week, up until 8 p.m. on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 3.
She said two election staff members will go twice a week to pick up the ballots from each location. Ten days before the election they will start going three days a week for pickup and will go more often if necessary.
There is a phone number for the Registrar of Voters Office on every dropoff box; Valadez said if voters have issues, such as not being able to place their ballot in a box, they should call her office and she’ll send out staff to check it.
Valadez said the elections office will have staff at each dropbox on Election Day to close off the box at 8 p.m. The boxes will be removed after the election.
Sabatier asked if Valadez will have preliminary voting results available on election night.
She indicated she would, but cautioned that a final, official result will be weeks off as she and her staff work to certify the election, which is a month-long process.
Valadez referred to a new state election law that allows ballots postmarked on Election Day to be received up to 17 days after the election during the pandemic. That rule went into effect when Gov. Gavin Newsom this summer signed AB 860, which also authorized all of the state’s active voters to receive a ballot in the mail.
She said the elections office has been inundated with phone calls about voting, noting that some absentee voters now want to vote at the polls and some who have voted at the polls now want to vote by mail ballots.
More information about voting and tracking your ballot
For voters who want more information about voting, dropoff ballot locations or tracking their ballots, details and resources are below.
Registrar of Voters Office
Room 209, second floor of the Lake County Courthouse, 255 N. Forbes St., Lakeport
Telephone: 707-263-2372
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Website: http://www.lakecountyca.gov/Government/Directory/ROV.htm
Office hours: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Thursday
Phone hours: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday
Special office hours for October and November: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Friday, Oct. 16; Friday, Oct. 30; Saturday, Oct. 31; and Sunday, Nov. 1
Dropoff ballot boxes locations:
The boxes are located at the front of these buildings and are available for dropoff around the clock, seven days a week, until 8 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 3, Election Day:
– Lake County Courthouse, 255 N. Forbes St., Lakeport.
– Lakeport Library, 1425 N. High St.
– Redbud Library, 14785 Burns Valley Road, Clearlake.
– Middletown Library, 21256 Washington St.
– Upper Lake Library, 310 Second St.
Oct. 19 is last day to register to vote for November election:
http://www.lakeconews.com/index.php/news/66905-oct-19-is-last-day-to-register-to-vote-for-november-election
Track your ballot:
Sign up for text messages, emails or voicemails to track your ballot at http://wheresmyballot.sos.ca.gov
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
‘We’re on track’: Registrar of voters updates supervisors on election preparations
- Elizabeth Larson
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