Campaign overkill and key election dates

Here are some updates on Yorba Linda's upcoming elections:

--Best example of campaign overkill are the 71 political signs I counted on the roughly 600-foot stretch of the Main Street business district between Lemon Drive and Imperial Highway during a visit to a recent Saturday Farmer's Market.

That's an average of a bit more than eight signs per foot, and about half of them violated the city's longstanding zoning code regulating temporary signs, copies of which are given to candidates when they pick up nomination papers.

Infractions were signs within 15 feet of a driveway edge or fire hydrant, overhanging a street, curb or sidewalk, placed in tree wells and lacking owner's name, address and phone number.

--Residents unhappy with the candidate lineup in the Oct. 7 recall election (with replacements winning only if Tom Lindsey and Craig Young are removed from office with a minimum margin of 50 percent plus one of the votes cast) or the Nov. 4 general election can register as a write-in for either or both ballots.

Registration is required for write-in votes to be counted, and write-in candidates must meet the same requirements as ballot-listed contenders, including submitting a petition with from 20 to 30 signatures of the city's registered voters. Write-in registration deadline for the Oct. 7 election is Sept. 23 and for the Nov. 4 ballot Oct. 21.

The first council election in 1967 came before the registration requirement for write-ins to be counted became law. Tallying single votes on a ballot with 27 candidates for five seats were Billy Barty, Cacus (sic) Clay, Sammy Davis Jr., Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra and Nellie Smith.

--Key election dates include the last day to register to vote for the recall election (Sept. 22) and general election (Oct. 20) and the last day to request a vote-by-mail ballot for the recall (Sept. 30) and general (Oct. 28), although dates vary for military and new citizens.

Residents who don't receive sample ballots by Sept. 27 for the recall or Oct. 14 for the general might still be registered to vote, depending on past voting patterns. Status can be checked at ocvote.com by clicking on “registration.”

--Most Yorba Lindans have voted by mail for the past few election cycles, but receiving a ballot in the mail is no guarantee that it will be returned. For the June primary, the county sent out 22,016 vote-by-mail ballots to city residents, but only 7,173 were returned.

--Lists of registered voters by city or other district and vote-by-mail lists can be purchased from the county Registrar of Voters for $105.87. So-called “walking lists” naming voters by precinct, with streets in alphabetical order and addresses in numerical order, cost 50 cents per 1,000 names.

Some candidates and support groups keep track of which vote-by-mail ballots have been returned, so they can call or mail reminders to voters to return ballots by the election date.