New envelope and ballot designs for Monterey County voters

Out with old and in with the new! Not only does the Monterey County Elections Department have a new location (located at 1441 Schilling Place), they also have a new ballot design. On Tuesday they’ll be holding an information session to bring voters up to speed on what to expect next time they cast their ballots.

Instead of the old design, where you completed an arrow, you now fill in a bubble or oval. It’s similar to taking a test in school. In addition, the ballot’s envelope has also changed. The new changes were brought on by new equipment.

“The tabulation equipment is aging and spare parts were hard to come by and we needed to make that change. That prompted a new ballot design,” said Monterey County Registrar, Claudio Valenzuela.

The Elections Office will begin getting voters familiar with the new design beginning Tuesday night. The informational session will be at the Castroville Branch Library at 5 p.m. for English speakers and 6:30 for those who speak Spanish.