Remember to vote Tuesday if you haven't already cast your ballot
If you haven't already cast your ballot, today is the day to head to the polls for the general election.
And if you haven't returned your early ballots, they must be received by 5 p.m. today to be counted, said Recorder Robyn Stallworth Pouquette. Ballots received after the general election will not be counted even if they are postmarked prior to Nov. 6.
The late early ballots can be dropped off at the Yuma County Recorder's Office, 410 S. Maiden Lane, where a drop box is located out front. They can also be turned in at any one of the 11 vote centers during poll hours.
A total of 39,897 early ballots were mailed out. As of Monday afternoon, 23,714 returned early ballots and ballots cast at the Recorder's Office had been processed, Stallworth Pouquette said.
That's well ahead of the total 17,107 ballots cast in the August primary, she noted.
It was a busy weekend at the Recorder's Office, where 771 voters cast their ballots while the office was open Saturday and Sunday for the convenience of those who wanted to vote in advance of Election Day, Stallworth Pouquette said, adding that her staff “was blown away” at the response.
And the drop box again was full Monday afternoon with additional early ballots that had since been turned in.
Yuma County has 75,573 active registered voters.
Instead of having to go to a specified polling place, voters can now go to any one of the 11 vote centers throughout the county, eliminating confusion about the correct polling place to go to. All voting data for every precinct is placed in e-poll books that are connected to a central database, and printers print out ballots on demand.
The vote centers will be open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. today. The centers are located at:
• Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Neighborhood Center, 300 S. 13th Ave., Yuma
• Immanuel Baptist Church, 1000 E. 24th St., Yuma
• Yuma County Health Dept., 2200 W. 28th St., Yuma
• Oasis Church, 1545 S. Avenue C, Yuma
• Connecting Point Nazarene Church (formerly First Church of the Nazarene), 1900 S. Avenue A, Yuma
• Yuma County Public Works, 4343 S. Avenue 5-1/2E, Yuma
• Community Christian Church, 6480 E. Highway 95, Yuma
• First Southern Baptist Church of Wellton, 11711 William St., Wellton
• Foothills Library, 13226 E. South Frontage Road
• Somerton Library, 240 Canal St., Somerton
• Fernando Padilla Community Center, 800 Juan Sanchez Blvd., San Luis, Ariz.
For more information, call the Yuma County Elections Office at 373-1014.
The general election ballot includes a number of Yuma County, state and federal races, including the presidential race. It also has nine state propositions.
In addition, city of Yuma voters will be asked to approve the 2012 General Plan, identified on the ballot as Proposition 402. The updated plan serves as a guide to where Yuma wants to be, providing comprehensive direction for the growth and development of the city for the next 10 to 20 years.
Joyce Lobeck can be reached at jlobeck@yumasun.com or 539-6853. Find her on Facebook at www.facebook.com/YSJoyceLobeck or on Twitter at @YSJoyceLobeck.
