Santa Clara County election officials have a simple request as ballots for the Nov. 3 election land in mailboxes this week: don't wait until the last minute to send yours back.

The county is mailing vote-by-mail packets to more than 1 million active registered voters, San José Spotlight reported. Officials with the Registrar of Voters are encouraging residents to either return those ballots early or vote in person once voting centers open later this month.

Why the push to vote early

A mailed ballot counts as long as it is postmarked on or before Election Day. But county officials cautioned that the U.S. Postal Service isn't guaranteeing a ballot will be postmarked on the same day it is dropped in the mail. A late postmark could mean a ballot arrives with a date that disqualifies it.

Registrar spokesperson Michael Borja told San José Spotlight the office recommends using an official drop box, or mailing a ballot through the Postal Service at least a week before Election Day, so that possible delays don't invalidate anyone's vote. Returning ballots early also gives election workers time to reach voters whose ballots have problems, such as a missing signature, so those can be fixed before the deadline. Borja described the county's official drop boxes as one of the most secure ways to return a ballot.

County officials also framed early voting as a way to avoid any last-minute disruptions, noting that residents have raised questions about possible changes to the election process this year.

Key dates and ways to vote

  • Completed ballots can go back by mail, into one of more than 100 official drop boxes around the county, to a voting center, or to the county elections office at 1555 Berger Drive, Building 2, in San Jose.
  • Residents can already vote in person at the elections office.
  • Oct. 19 is the last day to register and still receive a ballot by mail. After that, conditional voter registration is available at the elections office and voting centers through Election Day.
  • Voting centers open up to 10 days before Nov. 3.

What's on the ballot

Beyond the governor's race between Xavier Becerra and Steve Hilton, South Bay voters will sort through San Jose City Council contests in Districts 5, 7 and 9, an open race for mayor of the city of Santa Clara as Lisa Gillmor terms out, and a long list of state propositions and local tax measures. Those include the Regional Transit Measure, the five-county sales tax for BART, Caltrain, VTA and other systems.

County Executive James Williams said at a Monday news conference that every vote matters and encouraged all residents to make their voices heard.