Results tagged “voting” from News 24/7

Patients at St. Mary Medical Center in Apple Valley were able to vote from their bedside thanks to an emergency voting program nicknamed "Project Bedside Vote."
Staff members canvassed patients early in the morning to find out if they were interested in voting. Of the 31 patients that requested ballots 28 were registered voters eligible to participate in the program.

Voting packets were assembled for each patient at the Registrar of Voters office in San Bernardino and delivered to the hospital by courier at 3:30pm. The packets were distributed to patients, giving them several hours to complete their ballots before they would have to be sealed and returned to the nearest polling station.

Four of the 28 eligible patients had been discharged by the time the voting packets arrived and staff contacted them at home to arrange delivery of their voting materials to their homes if necessary.

"It's like a new medicine," said Socorro Chavez. Admitted last Tuesday night, Chavez was worried that she wouldn't to vote after surgery to remove her gallbladder had been postponed but was very excited to learn she could participate in the voting process from her bed.

The program has been used in five previous elections with increasing participation.

- Kelly Simione, correspondent

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Democratic Sen. Barack Obama and Republican Sen. John McCain battled for the White House on today in an election that challenged attitudes about race as surely as it gauged sentiments about the battered economy and the war in Iraq.

As if unwilling to cede the stage, both men campaigned into Election Day, long past time when long lines formed at polling places. Obama, bidding to become the first black president, greeted voters in Indiana, McCain supporters in Colorado and New Mexico.

The economy was by far the top Election Day issue, according to an Associated Press survey of voters leaving their polling places. Six in 10 said so, and none of the other top issues -- energy, Iraq, terrorism and health care -- was picked by more than one in 10.

Rain showers and cold temperatures did not keep people away from polling places today.

Those who cast their ballot at The Gathering Place Church in San Bernardino said the election this time around was simply too important.

"Sun, rain or snow no matter what I'm voting today, because I have a son in Iraq right now and I want change not only for him but for all the soldiers," said area resident Maria Ayala, as she walked into the church to vote.

deborah.pfeiffer@inlandnewspapers.com

San Bernardino County Registrar Kari Verjil has a few hopes as voters head to the polls today to choose the nation's next leader.

With voters set to either elect the country's first black president or female vice president, Verjil wants to set a record for participation. That means more than 71 percent of the county's 829,000 registered voters must cast ballots for either Barack Obama or John McCain and his running mate, Sarah Palin.

Already, 170,000 ballots have been cast via early voting, meaning more than 426,000 votes must be recorded to set the county's record.

Anyone voting tomorrow should expect long lines at polling places.

County Registrar of Voters Kari Verjil recommends giving yourself at least a couple of hours to get through the line.

Polling places are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., and anyone in line by 8 p.m. will be allowed to vote, Verjil said.

To speed up the line, she recommended bringing your sample ballot and filling it out beforehand.

Voters can also turn in mail-in ballots at any polling place or at the registrar's office at 777 E. Rialto Ave. in San Bernardino. If you're turning in a sample ballot, you don't have to wait in line, Verjil said.

Today, the registrar's office was packed with early voters. Verjil predicted that about 3,000 people voted early today, bringing the total number of early voters to 9,000. That number doesn't include people with mail-in ballots.

"I would say it was the busiest that it's been since we started early voting," she said of today's turnout for early voting.

Vote totals should be available by Wednesday, she said.

The San Bernardino County Registrar of Voters wants to remind voters that to avoid long lines on Election Day, vote early.

From 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, voters can vote at the registrar's office at 777 E. Rialto Ave. in San Bernardino.

Voters can also vote Thursday, Friday or Monday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the office, as well as from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Election Day.

Voters voting by mail need to have their ballots turned in to the Registrar of Voters by 8 p.m. election night, Nov. 4.

Voters can drop off their ballots at any polling place or at the registrar's office from 7 am. to 8 p.m. on Nov. 4, according to a news release.

The registrar's office will also be open this Saturday and Nov. 1 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. for voting and so voters can drop off their ballots. Voters can only bring their ballots or the ballots of family members if authorized on the ballot's return envelope.

For more information, call the Registrar of Voters at (909) 387-8300.
The registrar's office is at 777 E. Rialto Ave. in San Bernardino.