The brand new VoteMobile, purchased by Santa Cruz County Elections, will be hitting the road and open for voting for the first time on Monday, Oct. 12.
The VoteMobile will be parked at the Lighthouse Point Park on West Cliff Drive in Santa Cruz from 9 a.m. to noon and then head to Watsonville City Plaza Park at 358 Main St. in Watsonville from 2 to 5 p.m.
“Bringing voting directly to the voters has always been a dream of mine,” said County Clerk Gail Pellerin, “Thanks to some grant funds we received this year, that dream has come true.”
Ballots have been mailed to all voters in Santa Cruz County, but some prefer to vote in person.
Voters may drop by the red, white and blue VoteMobile to get a replacement ballot and vote it there or take it to go, drop off their voted ballot, vote an accessible ballot on the tablet, vote a Spanish ballot on the tablet, register to vote, or get any other voter service.
The VoteMobile will soon be heading to farmers markets, senior housing facilities, Davenport, the Summit and other areas of the county. A schedule will be posted Monday on the County Elections website at www.votescount.us.
Having a mobile voting unit is especially useful when serving voters who have been displaced by the fires and to provide accessible voting for people who can’t leave their homes due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, Pellerin said. The VoteMobile also allows the county to bring voting to neighborhoods who will not have a traditional polling place this election due to the pandemic.