[Brief] Benicia official says ballot boxes are only located in two places across town

JohnGlidden.com staff report | Oct. 14, 2020

BENICIA – With less than three weeks before the Nov. 3 election, there have been reports of unauthorized ballot boxes popping up across the state.

Benicia City Clerk Lisa Wolfe took to social media this week to remind locals that there are only two official ballot boxes in the city.

They include Benicia City Hall, which is located at 250 East L St. Vote-by-mail ballots can be dropped off from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. City Hall will be closed on Oct. 16, and 30.

The second location is found inside Raley’s, situated at 890 Southampton Road.

Wolfe also provided pictures of what the official ballot boxes look like and she presented the various ways Benicia can cast their ballots.

“You can either place them in one of the official boxes, mail them in, use the drive through feature the last weekend prior the the election, or vote in person on 11/3,” she wrote.

The fake ballot boxes sprouting up around the state are not authorized and could be illegal, said California Secretary of State Alex Padilla.

“Operating unofficial ballot drop boxes — especially those misrepresented as official drop boxes — is not just misleading to voters, it’s a violation of state law,” he told media outlets. “My office is coordinating with local officials to address the multiple reports of unauthorized ballot drop boxes. Californians should only use official ballot drop boxes that have been deployed and secured by their county elections office.”

The last day to register to vote is Oct. 19. The voter registration form must be either postmarked by this date or delivered to a county elections official by this date.

Voters can track their ballot to see when it is received and counted by first registering on the California Secretary of State website, https://california.ballottrax.net/voter/.

Information on registering to vote, voting options and a link to the state voter
guide are available through the Solano County Registrar of Voters at
www.solanocounty.com/depts/rov.