With less than two months until election day, San Diego candidates across the political spectrum are gearing up their “Get Out the Vote” efforts in tandem with the October 8, 2022 mail ballots drop county-wide. Some voters have expressed hesitancy in the safety of voting by mail, which, according to PDI (Political Data Intelligence) owner Paul Mitchell, could be a reason for the low Republican turnout in the 2022 primary election. In a recent email to his subscribers, Paul stated “One thing that has caught our eye, and could have to do with the by-mail system, is the relatively low Republican turnout in the primary. Republican turnout was 41% compared to 47% in 2018. And, more importantly, as a share of votes cast, Republicans were only 29% of the electorate, compared to 41% as recently as 2010. Some of this is likely due to the hesitancy Republicans have shown to use vote by mail ballots. Republicans used to have a big advantage over Democrats in by-mail voting, seriously over-performing in the early vote in particular. But in 2020 this changed. Going into this 2022 primary, polling done with Capitol Weekly showed that 36% of Republicans didn’t want to vote by mail, instead saying they were going to vote at the polls, compared to just 6% for Democrats. You have to wonder how many of them just ended up not voting at all. This hesitancy to use the easiest form of voting could have suppressed their vote in the primary.”
After the 2020 Presidential election, many voters expressed concern over the safety of voting by mail, and instead opted to vote at the polls. In California, where vote-by-mail became a permanent fixture of the election process during the pandemic, “…every active registered voter will automatically receive a ballot in the mail” (sdvote.com), voting by mail has become the easiest way to vote. Along with the installation of permanent mail voting has come multiple safeguards to ensure election integrity. Along with the San Diego County Registrar of Voter’s statement of safeguards surrounding San Diego County’s vote-by-mail system, the Republican Party of San Diego County also created a useful acronym to help dissuade voters from the fear of voting by mail.
How to Vote the S.A.F.E. Way
Many voters are rightfully worried about the integrity of the election. The first step in securing the vote… is to vote! Here’s how to do so quickly and legally, and how you can track your ballot to make sure it’s counted! Just follow the S.A.F.E. method:
Send: Mail in your ballot on Day 1 of the election! Do NOT wait until Election Day, as the state has cut back on polling places and long lines will suppress the vote!
Audit: Track and verify your vote was 1) received and 2) counted online at WheresMyBallot.sos.ca.gov. Check often until your vote is counted and verified!
Fix: If your ballot isn’t counted by Day 20, go to the nearest polling location and demand a second provisional ballot.
Examine: Volunteer to examine and monitor the counting of ballots!
Vote S.A.F.E today!
