San Mateo County residents can walk into the elections office at 40 Tower Road in San Mateo and watch staff verify signatures, open ballot envelopes and scan mail ballots for the Nov. 3 general election.

The county's Registration & Elections Division began processing returned ballots on Monday, Oct. 5, and will continue weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. or until all available ballots are processed for the day, until the official canvass — the final review and certification of election results — is complete after Election Day, according to the county elections office.

The office will be closed Monday, Oct. 12, for Indigenous Peoples' Day/Columbus Day, according to the city's voting guide.

Mark Church, San Mateo County's chief elections officer and assessor-county clerk-recorder, said the open-door policy is meant to build trust. "Transparency is an essential part of maintaining public confidence in our elections," Church said in an Oct. 2 announcement.

How the process works

For each returned ballot, an election worker compares the voter's signature on the envelope to the signature on file from the original registration, past elections or the Department of Motor Vehicles. Once verified, the ballot is separated from the envelope to protect voter secrecy, and the envelope is saved for a mandatory retention period. The ballot is then digitally scanned.

The county says scanned ballots will not be counted or reported until polls close at 8 p.m. on Nov. 3.

Showing up to observe

Observers can arrive during operating hours without an appointment, though space is limited and waits may occur. Those who want a specific time slot can email [email protected]. Each observer receives a copy of the Election Observer Program Guidelines and the Vote by Mail Processing Procedures.

Ballot drop-off and voting options

Registered county voters automatically receive a mail ballot. Ballot packages were expected to begin arriving in mailboxes the week of Oct. 5 for most of the county's more than 447,000 registered voters, the elections office said.

Three vote centers opened Oct. 5 for in-person voting: 40 Tower Road in San Mateo, 555 County Center on the first floor in Redwood City and the South San Francisco Public Library at 901 Civic Campus Way.

The centers are open weekdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. through Monday, Nov. 2, except Oct. 12, with daily voting hours starting Saturday, Oct. 24, according to the county's election page.

Within San Mateo city limits, five ballot drop-box locations are available, including City Hall at 330 W. 20th Ave. and the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center at 725 Monte Diablo Ave., according to the city's voting guide.

The county advises voters who need to request a mail ballot to do so by Oct. 27. Mailed ballots must be postmarked on or before Nov. 3 and received by Nov. 10. Ballots delivered to a vote center or official drop box must arrive by 8 p.m. Nov. 3. On Election Day, vote centers are open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Voters can track their ballot through the county's My Election Info service or the state's Where's My Ballot? service. The elections office can be reached by phone or text at (650) 312-5222.