Registrar to host forum on 2008 election, voting

The O.C. Registrar of Voters will hold an educational forum at UCI’s Crystal Cove Auditorium at 6 p.m. Monday, organizers said.

The forum, scheduled to discuss the 2008 election and issues pertinent to provisional voting, will feature local party and city officials in a panel discussion.

More than 60% of all provisional ballots cast are from ineligible out-of-state voters, or those who are not registered at all. That, Registrar Neal Kelley says, causes significant congestion at the polls.

“We want to make sure people vote and that their vote is counted,” he said. “But, we also want people to understand that, if you’re registered to vote in Montana, you have to get a ballot from Montana — we can’t count your vote here. They’re well-intentioned and want to vote, but we want to make sure they do it correctly.”

Provisional ballots are available for those who cannot vote in their hometowns but still wish to vote on county, state and national issues. Those hoping to vote on local issues have to vote in their cities of residence, Kelley said.

The deadline to register is Jan. 22. Voters can look at the back of their sample ballots for nearby polling places, as their normal location may have changed.

— Chris Caesar