Far more Americans are voting from home this year, but for residents who have lost their home to wildfire, receiving your ballot by mail isn’t always an option. Fortunately, the VoteMobile is here to save the day. The rolling polling station is catering to those who have lost their homes to wildfire and to elderly voters who don’t feel comfortable venturing to voting sites.
VoteMobile is operating in Santa Cruz county where the devastating CZU Lightning Complex fire burned 900 homes this summer. It looks a lot like a taco truck, but instead of food, the truck serves up on-demand ballots. The truck is stocked with pre-printed ballots and is connected to the county’s election information management system. Registered voters check in, fill out their ballot, and drop it in a voting box, much like regular polling places.
As of last Monday, over 500 voters have cast their ballot at the mobile polling place. In addition to seniors and wildfire victims, the truck has also visited homeless shelters and farmers markets. It makes voting easy and convenient and anyone can use it.
Santa Cruz County’s chief elections official Gail Pellerin told NPR, “We want to make sure everybody has access to voting. You don’t see the kinds of shenanigans that are going on in other counties, in other states here in Santa Cruz County because we really do believe in democracy and the importance of every voter having access to the ballot.”
Image source: NBC News
