Ventura County began mailing ballots Monday, Oct. 5, to every active registered voter ahead of the Nov. 3 general election.

Conejo Valley residents will find contested races for three Thousand Oaks City Council seats, three Conejo Valley Unified School District board seats and three Conejo Recreation and Park District board seats on their ballots. The council races mark a first. Districts 1, 2 and 3 are being elected by district rather than at large, according to the city's candidate manual.

The council matchups, as listed by The Acorn: District 1 pits incumbent Mikey Taylor against Karen Arreola, District 2 features Gus Gougas versus Kyle Rohrbach, and District 3 has incumbent David Newman facing Victor Hayek.

Voters in the Las Virgenes Unified School District will also see Measure LV, a parcel tax renewal at the current $98 annual rate for 12 years. The measure would generate about $2 million a year for local students, with senior exemptions, according to the county's measures page.

Ventura County Clerk-Recorder and Registrar of Voters Michelle Ascencion said in a July 13 press release that local contests "…most directly affect their own Ventura County community."

Voters who have not confirmed their registration can check online at voterstatus.sos.ca.gov. The deadline to register is Monday, Oct. 19. After that date, conditional voter registration is available at any vote center through Election Day.

The county and state voter information guides were mailed starting Sept. 24 and are also available at Vote.VenturaCounty.gov, according to the county elections page.

Returning your ballot

Voters have three options to return a completed ballot:

  • Mail it. Ballots must be postmarked by Nov. 3 and received by Nov. 10. A USPS policy change means postmarks now reflect the date mail is first processed by machinery, not when it is dropped in a mailbox. The county recommends hand-delivering mail inside a post office and requesting a manual postmark.
  • Drop box. Official ballot drop boxes are outdoors, available around the clock and open until 8 p.m. on Election Day. Voters can use any drop box in Ventura County.
  • Vote center. In-person voting at vote centers countywide opens Saturday, Oct. 24. Hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. through Monday, Nov. 2, and 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Election Day. Vote centers also offer replacement ballots, same-day registration and accessible voting devices.

Early voting is already available at the county Government Center, 800 S. Victoria Ave. in Ventura, weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Tracking your ballot

The free BallotTrax service at WheresMyBallot.sos.ca.gov sends text, email or phone alerts when a ballot is mailed, when it has not been returned a week before the election and when the elections office has received and counted it.

In the June 2 primary, 91.5% of the county's 232,223 ballots were cast by mail, according to the county's certified results.

Voters with questions can reach the Ventura County Elections Division at (805) 654-2664 or [email protected]. Thousand Oaks election information is also posted at toaks.gov/elections.