MADERA COUNTY–After consulting with Madera County Office of Emergency Services and the National Weather Service, the Madera County Registrar of Voters, Rebecca Martinez, is preparing for extreme weather in the Eastern Madera County areas that could interrupt voting over the weekend and week.
Madera County Clerk Rebecca Martinez.
“Voting by mail is still the most efficient, secure and safe way to vote,” explained Martinez. “In the event that weather conditions make opening the Coarsegold or Oakhurst vote centers unsafe for election workers, I am prepared to close them. It will be a last resort but voters should be prepared for this possibility.”
Madera County Office of Emergency Services has activated the Emergency Operations Center for the weekend. Elections staff are working at the Emergency Operations Center. They will facilitate coordination, safe access to vote centers and maintain situational awareness.
Should the need arise, emergency responders will assist Election officials. This could include the transportation of ballots from vote centers and drop box locations.
“We are asking that voters assist our teams by not waiting to vote. If you are going to vote by mail, please do so immediately. Vote by mail ballots can be returned by USPS mail, dropped at a vote center or placed in one of five official ballot drop boxes throughout the county,” stated Martinez. “Please do not wait, not only will you be waiting in longer lines, but we simply do not want to unnecessarily put people in harm’s way during the storm.”
Voters can vote in person at the Oakhurst or Madera vote centers on Friday. On Saturday 6 additional vote centers will open including one in Coarsegold. In Eastern Madera County, Official ballot drop boxes are in North Fork and Oakhurst. A complete list of vote center/drop box locations is on the back of the Voter Information Guide. This is in every voter’s vote by mail ballot. Also they are on the Madera County Elections website: www.votemadera.com.
Any voter who needs assistance or has questions should contact the Elections Office at (800) 435-0509 or (559) 675-7720. The Elections Office is open 8am to 5pm every day until election day. It will be open from 7am to 8pm that day.
Additional storm updates and information about the storm’s impact on voting operations will have regular posts on the social media accounts of the Madera County Sheriff and the Madera County Elections Department.
