County Coordination for Safe and Positive Voting Process

The Santa Barbara County Registrar of Voters is committed to ensuring that voters can exercise their right to vote in a safe, secure and accessible manner during the General Election on November 3. As other counties in California and states across the U.S. are responding to power outages, wildfires, civil unrest and possible hurricanes, the County Elections Office has been working diligently with local and state partners to prepare for a wide range of conditions that could impact a safe and secure process for voters. 

Although there are no indicators of potential security or natural hazard concerns in Santa Barbara County in the coming days leading up to Election Day, County officials and partners want to assure the community that plans are in place to protect the community and secure the voting process, including:

• sharing voting locations with local power utilities and coordinating back up power solutions for all locations;
• developing processes and procedures for closing locations if needed (e.g., an evacuation), and directing community members to safe locations for voting;
• coordination with local law enforcement to ensure voters feel safe and that their ballots will be securely collected and counted; and
• requiring face coverings at all polling locations, having extra disposable masks and accommodation processes if needed, and general sanitation procedures.

Voters are urged to cast their ballots as early as possible to avoid delays and waiting lines at the polling places scheduled to be open Saturday, Oct. 31 through Election Day, Nov. 3. As of today, the U.S. Post Office cannot guarantee that mailed ballots will be postmarked on or before Nov. 3. To ensure their ballot is returned in time, voters are encouraged to use a ballot drop box or visit their polling place, including the three Elections Offices in Santa Barbara, Santa Maria and Lompoc.

Reminders on locations, dates and times for Ballot Drop Boxes and Polling Locations:

There are 30 Ballot Drop Boxes throughout the County. You can safely return your voted ballot to any Official Drop Box 24 hours a day until 8 p.m. on November 3. A list of locations is available here. There are three locations in Goleta:

• Goleta City Hall (130 Cremona Drive)
• Goleta Valley Community Center (5679 Hollister Avenue)
• Southcoast Church (5814 Cathedral Oaks Road)

There are 35 polling locations in the County. Safely return your voted ballot or vote in person at your Official polling location during the following days and times:

• Saturday, Oct. 31, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.
• Sunday, Nov. 1, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.
• Monday, Nov. 2, 9 a.m. – 6 p.m.
• Tuesday, Nov. 3, 7 a.m. – 8 p.m.

Tips for Voters: 

• Make a plan to vote. You can return your vote-by-mail using the prepaid postage return envelope or by bringing it to any official drop box, voting location, or county elections office.
• Voters can also choose someone to return their ballot. Only choose someone you trust to return your ballot. You and the other person must sign the back of the return envelope. Never give your ballot to someone else unless you have completed, signed, and sealed the return envelope. 
• Sign up for ballot tracking to get automatic notifications by text message (SMS), email, or voice message about the status of your ballot voted by mail or drop box. Voters will be notified once the local Elections Office has received the ballot, once it has been counted, and if there are any issues with the ballot.
• Get information on voting from the trusted official sources, which are the Santa Barbara County Elections office and the Secretary of State. Resources for Santa Barbara County voters are available at SBCVote.com. The Secretary of State has resources for California voters at vote.ca.gov.

For assistance with the local voting process, call (800) SBC-VOTE or go to SBCVote.com for more information.

County Elections Office Locations & Hours

The three election offices in the county listed below are now open for voting, voter registration and voter questions through Election Day, November 3.

Santa Barbara
4440-A Calle Real
8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday – Friday, except holidays

Lompoc
100 E. Locust (Lompoc Veteran’s Memorial Building)
8 a.m. to noon, and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Monday – Friday, except holidays

Santa Maria
511 E. Lakeside Parkway, Suite 134
8 a.m. to noon, and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Monday – Friday, except holidays

Pictured: Ballot Drop Box locations in Goleta: Goleta Valley Community Center (5679 Hollister Avenue), Goleta City Hall (130 Cremona Drive), and Southcoast Church (5814 Cathedral Oaks Road)