Election Day in Merced County: Some small lines, but no complications reported thus far

4:20 p.m. Tuesday update

According to the Merced County Registrar of Voters office there have no issues at voting centers or ballot boxes so far today.

“We’ve had a little bit of lines but people have been polite. It’s been a friendly atmosphere,” said Registrar Barbara Levey.

Levey says it’s been a strong turnout for the election so far and they’ve seen a lot of dropoffs at the ballot boxes.

“That’s not unusual,” Levey said. “A lot of people wait until election day to drop off their ballot.”

Original report

From Snelling to Gustine, voters from every corner of Merced County are ensuring their voices are heard Tuesday, casting their ballots for federal, state and local races.

But this election year was anything but normal because of the coronavirus pandemic. Whereas in the past residents would have to apply to vote by mail, this year all eligible voters were sent mail-in ballots, in order to promote voting while maintaining a physical distance from others.

The Merced County Registrar of Voters placed eight drop-off ballot boxes countywide, along with 13 vote centers to assist residents. At the voting centers, wearing a mask and socially distancing rules were being enforced.

Registrar Barbara Levey said as of noon Tuesday, the local election is been moving along relatively smoothly. “Largely, I think people have been pretty pleased,” Levey told the Sun-Star.

“When (residents) call and we explain that it was a mail ballot election, and we mailed a ballot, they do remember getting one. And for the most part they are getting those out and returning those.”

The scene was different at voting centers Tuesday morning around Merced County. For example, around 10:30 a.m. a line of around 20 residents stood outside the vote center at Merced College, waiting to cast their ballots.

Meanwhile at the Merced County Fairgrounds, by noon the procession of voters had slowed to a trickle.

Stephanie Lopez, 22 of Merced, cast her ballot at the fairgrounds, saying she felt comfortable and safe. “It was super easy. I thought it was going to be more complicated. You just wear your mask and socially distance,” she said. “Everyone was nice and very helpful.”

While many people may have been drawn to vote because of the presidential election, many local races are on the ballot, including mayors of Merced and Los Banos, the Merced County Board of Supervisors District 2 seat, and council seats in Merced, Atwater, Livingston and Dos Palos.

All 116,200 registered voters in Merced County were sent a mail-in ballot. There were around 104,400 registered voters in Merced County for the March primary election, according to the registrar’s office.

The work of the Merced County Registrar of Voters and other election offices won’t be done after Tuesday, however,.

With so many ballots expected to arrive via mail, elections offices are accepting ballots up to 17 days after the election — but they had to be postmarked by Election Day.

The move to the California Voter’s Choice Act, where all voters get a ballot by mail, has given people an opportunity to vote early.

Ballot Drop Box Locations

678 West 18th St., Merced

County Administration Building, 2222 M St., Merced

750 Bellevue Road, Atwater

2174 Blossom St., Dos Palos

352 Fifth St., Gustine

1416 C St., Livingston

Los Banos Community Center 645 7th St., Los Banos

520 J St., Los Banos

Vote centers

Atwater Community Center 760 E. Bellevue Road Atwater, CA 95301

Del Hale Hall 931 Center Street Dos Palos, CA 93620

Al Goman Community Center 745 Linden Avenue Gustine, CA 95322

Livingston Veteran Memorial Building 1605 7th St., Livingston, CA 95334

Los Banos Community Center 645 7th St., Los Banos

College Greens Park Scripps Building 1815 Scripps Drive, Los Banos

Department of Child Support Services 3368 N. Highway 59, Suite I Merced

Merced College Theater Lobby 3600 M St., Merced

Merced County Fairgrounds Pavilion 900 Martin Luther King Way, Merced

Delhi Veterans Memorial Building 9799 Stephens St., Delhi

Hilmar Grange 8188 Lander Avenue, Hilmar

Planada Community Center 9167 Stanford Avenue, Planada

Snelling Community Recreation Building 3325 E. Merced Falls Road, Snelling

This story was originally published November 3, 2020 at 1:09 PM.