San Andreas, CA…New improvements are coming to Calaveras County for the 2020 Elections. The Registrar of Voters (ROV) has opted to adopt the Voter’s Choice Act Election Model. In 2002 state law was amended to allow voters to register as permanent vote by mail (VBM). Since then the number of VBM voters has steadily grown to 74% of the County’s registered voters. In 2016 California codified a dramatic change in election law by adopting the Voters Choice Act (SB 450). Senate Bill 450 authorized all counties to conduct any election by all mailed ballot with Vote Centers commencing 2020. Five counties, Sacramento, Madera, Napa, Nevada, & San Mateo, piloted the election model in 2018 with great success.

The Calaveras County Registrar of Voters established a combined Voting Accessibility Advisory Committee (VAAC) and a Language Accessibility Advisory Committee (LAAC) in April of 2017. This combined committee was established to provide critical feedback to the Calaveras County ROV about election administration and will continue to be a fundamental component.

Two of our neighboring counties, Amador and Tuolumne, announced their plans to adopt the Voter’s Choice Act in time for the March 2020 Presidential Primary Election earlier this year.

The Election Administration Plan (EAP) is being released with this announcement. The EAP outlines the counties proposal on how to facilitate an All-Mail/Vote Center election and the various changes in policy and procedure that accompany the transition. There will be a 20 day public comment period to begin today and end August 22, 2019. A public meeting will be held on Friday, August 23, 2019 at 1:00 pm in the Cheseborough Room of the San Andreas Library at 1299 Gold Hunter Rd. San Andreas, CA 95249.

Visit our website to view the EAP: https://elections.calaverasgov.us/. Additional information about the Voter’s Choice Act will be posted to the Elections Website soon!

Contact Elections Department if you have interest in joining the VAAC/LAAC or would like to provide feedback about the EAP. Phone: 754-6376 E-mail: Electionsweb@co.calaveras.ca.us