By Kathryn Reed

Some voters in El Dorado County are sharpening their pencils for the first time because their polling place has been eliminated and they must vote by mail for candidates/issues on the Nov. 3 ballot.

The 14 precincts on the South Shore have been consolidated to four – two in South Lake Tahoe and two in the county. The people who don’t have a physical place to go to should have received their ballot in the mail already with a letter explaining what is going on.

Bill Schultz, county registrar of voters, said this is a way for his department to save money. It costs more than $1,000 to open a precinct.

He doesn’t expect this type of consolidation to occur when it’s a primary or general election. But Schultz said for small elections like this one the vote by mail method has been used before.

“We get a higher turnout by mail, than at the polls,” he said.

Nonetheless, Schultz is predicting a 23-27 percent voter turnout.

Even though not many items are on the ballot for the lake side of El Dorado County, Schultz said since the ballots still have to be transported to Placerville instead of being sent electronically like was allowed years ago, the results are not likely to come in faster than usual.

If you have not received your voter information, call (530) 621.7480.