Monterey County voters can cast their ballots starting Monday, Oct. 5, with mail-in ballots arriving as early as Thursday, Oct. 1, and drop boxes open across the Peninsula.

All active registered voters will receive a ballot by mail, according to the Monterey County Elections Office. Ballots are postage-paid. But a change in U.S. Postal Service (USPS) policy means voters should pay close attention to timing.

The USPS now stamps ballots with the date they were processed, not the date the postal service first received them, KSBW reported. That distinction matters: ballots must be postmarked by Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 3, and received by Nov. 10 to count.

Monterey County Registrar of Voters Gina Martinez urged voters not to mail ballots on Election Day. "We are going to encourage them to go to the counter and get a postmark," Martinez said. "We ask that our voters not put it in the mail on Election Day."

County officials recommend mailing ballots no later than Tuesday, Oct. 27. Starting Thursday, Oct. 29, voters who mail their ballot can request a manual postmark from a postal clerk at the counter, according to a county elections press release.

Drop boxes and in-person voting

Monterey County has ballot drop boxes open through Nov. 3 at locations across the Peninsula, including Pacific Grove City Hall, Monterey Public Library, Seaside City Hall, Sunset Center in Carmel-by-the-Sea, Carmel Valley Branch Library, Del Rey Oaks City Hall, Marina Community Center and the CSUMB Alumni Visitor Center parking lot. All 24-hour drop boxes close at 8 p.m. on Nov. 3.

Ballots placed in drop boxes must be sealed in their return envelope or they will be rejected.

'Vote it live'

Voters who want faster processing can bring their ballot to an in-person voting location and hand it directly to staff without the return envelope. Monterey County calls this option "vote it live." Ballots submitted this way can be counted faster than those returned in envelopes, which can take up to 48 hours to process, according to KSBW.

This is an in-person-only option. It is not available at drop boxes.

In-person early voting is open at the Monterey County Elections Office, 1441 Schilling Place, North Building, Salinas. Saturday voting is available there on Oct. 24 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

A temporary satellite voting location opens Friday, Oct. 30, at the Embassy Suites, 1441 Canyon Del Rey Blvd., Seaside. That site runs through Election Day. Hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Oct. 30 and Monday, Nov. 2; 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 31, and Sunday, Nov. 1; and 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Nov. 3.

Registration and tracking

The deadline to register to vote is Monday, Oct. 19. After that date, voters can still register conditionally and cast a provisional ballot at the county elections office or a vote center through Election Day.

Voters can track their ballot through the county's BallotTrax tracking tool or through the state's WheresMyBallot service, which offers email, text and voice call notifications.

The Monterey County Elections Office can be reached at (831) 796-1499.