STOCKTON, Calif. — The countdown to March 5 has begun inside the San Joaquin County Registrar of Voters' Office. It's a busy time for registrar Olivia Hale and her team.
"Today we are in the process of finalizing our voter information guide and finalizing ballots and ballot orders, working with our vendors to ensure they have all our mailing lists," said Hale. "We're also staffing election officers."
Another item on the to-do list: finding locations to house two more of the county's new, more secure ballot drop boxes.
"They're over 1,000 pounds, they're bolted to the ground and then we will have surveillance and we're hoping that surveillance will be live streamed to our website," said Hale. "Twenty-one locations are secured and will be installed by February 1. Our goal was to install 25. We have two more, so we're hoping to have 23 by February 1."
With just 55 days to go until the primary, Hale's team has already started placing some of the ballot drop-off boxes in places like in front of Stockton's city hall, but one will not be going up in front of Lodi's city hall after city council members voted against it.
Lodi did not respond to a request for comment by publishing time Wednesday.
"We're working in the city of Lodi to see if there are some other options," said Hale. "It doesn't boil down to wanting or not wanting, it's like do we have the capacity to install it there, is our parking lot big enough, there's a lot that goes into that."
Hale says voters in Lodi will still have other options to submit their votes after ballots get mailed starting February 5.
"You'll get information in the mail about your local polling place and where you're assigned, or your nearest two locations if you live in a rural area so you'll have that option to vote in person," said Hale. "You also have the option to come to our office."
Another option is mailing the ballot back with no stamps needed or dropping it off at a polling location on Election Day. Either way, Hale says she and her team are here to help.
"We know that there's many choices for voters, so if you're a little lost in how many options are available to you, you can call our office," said Hale. "We will assist you to make sure that we help you find the right fit and the choice you want to exercise to cast your ballot on election day."
Watch more from ABC10: San Joaquin County approves new vote-by-mail drop boxes with security enhancements