Where’s the Ballot Box?

I made the mistake of dropping off my ballot at election headquarters in the dark evening hours. Election headquarters (and the only place listed to drop off ballots before Election Day in Santa Barbara) is very inconveniently located out of town, on the badly lit 4440 Calle Real road.

My GPS told me we had arrived, but I wandered around the Sheriff’s headquarters buildings and, I think, the jail! Luckily, I finally saw another human being in this deserted parking lot, who told me to go out, turn right on Calle Real, and take the first right.

Luckily there were signs saying “vote.” Maybe during the day, I might have seen the ballot box drop-off on the left, but instead I pulled up in front of the building, looking around again flummoxed. Another car zipped by me, and I followed it with my eyes way over to the left and finally spied the ballot box near the far exit.

As a senior citizen, and thinking of those without a car, patience, or persistence to locate the only early ballot box in town, which is very, very far away from downtown, this is a thoughtless location.

It’s also quite hazardous for the handicapped, because this out-of-the-way location is too dark, scary, and vastly inconvenient.

How about putting future ballot boxes inside or outside the County Administration Building on Anapamu Street? Or for safety’s sake, outside the police station downtown?