History:

It all began during the Civil War when the first vote by mail ballots were allowed by the North for the soldiers and sailors. California first allowed vote-by-mail voting in 1920. Universal vote-by-mail voting began in 1978. Prior to that, vote-by-mail ballots were available only to the ill and disabled, those who lived too far from the polls and other special circumstances. As a result of this change in legislation allowing any person to vote by mail, it has become a very popular means to cast a ballot. In recent elections, over 55% of those voting cast their ballots by mail and in June, 2008 the percentage of mail voters was 68%. Click here to see vote-by-mail statistics for elections since 1980.

In 2002, legislative changes further allowed any voter to request to be placed on the list as a permanent vote-by-mail voter. Voters on this list are automatically mailed a ballot 29 days before every election. Since that change, the permanent vote by mail list has grown from 2,500 to nearly 71,000 voters- comprising 46% of the registered voters in this county. If you wish to become a permanent vote-by-mail voter, you can mark the box indicating this when you apply for a ballot for any election or at any time complete the application for permanent status.

How To Apply for a Vote-by-Mail Ballot:

The first day a vote-by-mail ballot may be mailed to a voter is 29 days prior to the election. Vote-by-mail requests must be received no later than 7 days prior to the election in order for the ballot to be mailed to the voter. After that date the voter must appear in the Office of the County Clerk-Recorder and complete an application indicating the reason they cannot appear at the polls on election day.  Vote-by-mail ballots may be requested in one of six ways:

• By filling out the Vote-by-Mail Application on the back cover of the sample ballot sent to each registered voter;
• By letter to the County Clerk-Recorder, 1055 Monterey St. Rm. D120, San Luis Obispo CA 93408. The letter must state the voters name, residence address, address to which the ballot should be sent and voter's signature.
• In person at the County Clerk-Recorder's Office- in San Luis Obispo at the address above or for voters living in the North County, 5th and 1st Supervisorial Districts, at our office in Atascadero- 5955 Capistrano Ave., Suite B. The office hours are 7:30-4:00.
• By faxing a written request to the county Clerk-Recorder's Office at 781-1111.
• By accessing our online forms.    Click here to access Vote-by-Mail Ballot Request Application
• By E-mail: Elections

The voter may authorize a designated family member to return the voted ballot to any polling place in the county or to the County Clerk-Recorder's Office.