Preparing for an election in Humboldt County takes months of work, from recruiting poll workers and checking voter guides to securing ballots as they move through the counting process.
County Clerk-Recorder and Registrar of Voters Juan Pablo Cervantes said that work involves both protecting ballots and helping residents navigate voting requirements. His advice for avoiding lines: Return your ballot early.
“If you want to avoid lines, get that ballot in as soon as possible,” Cervantes said.
California also allows same-day voter registration for eligible residents who miss the regular registration deadline, a process formally known as conditional voter registration.
“Those are really scary words that really just mean that we have a mechanism in place to protect your right to vote,” Cervantes said.
He said Humboldt County’s election safeguards include signature checks, voting machines kept disconnected from the internet, physical seals and two-person teams transporting ballots collected from drop boxes.
“But at every step of the way, we either have a log, a seal, or some other control in place to make sure that that integrity stays through,” Cervantes said.
The county also works with the Elections Transparency Project, an independent nonprofit that scans ballots to allow public review of ballots and election results.
For Cervantes, elected in 2022, civic participation has personal roots. He grew up with immigrant parents who valued getting involved.
"I'm the child of immigrants," he said. "So when my mom got citizenship, it was a pretty big deal in our household."
Encouraged by his mother, he worked at the polls nearly every year from age 18 until joining the elections office.
His responsibilities now extend beyond elections to maintaining public records that document major moments in residents’ lives.
“I kind of interface with some of the big moments in life,” Cervantes said. “When they have a child, I have their birth certificate.”
Guest
- Juan Pablo Cervantes, Humboldt County
