The chairman of the San Diego County Democratic Party urged independent voters Tuesday to make sure they have the right ballot to vote for a Democratic presidential candidate on March 3.
Will Rodriguez-Kennedy called a press conference to remind voters who are registered as “no party preference” that they need to request a “crossover ballot” at their polling place on election day, or by Feb. 25 in order to vote by mail.
“We want to hear from those no party preference voters because many of them are left-leaning,” said Rodriguez-Kennedy at county Democratic headquarters in Murphy Canyon.
“If you want to be sure of getting a ballot, and you want to get it by mail, you’ll have to do it by Feb. 25,” he said.
A crossover ballot by mail can be requested by calling the San Diego County Registrar of Voters at (858) 565-5800 or by going online to SDVote.com.
Rodriguez-Kennedy said many new voters are likely to be surprised and confused when their mail ballot arrives and it does not include Democratic candidates.
While crossover ballots will be available at polling places, he urged voters to get their ballots in advance to avoid possible logistical problems.
The Democratic Party allows crossover ballots, but only registered Republicans can vote in that party’s primary.
During the press conference, Rodriguez-Kennedy noted the problems in Iowa, which threatened to delay results from Monday’s caucuses by almost 24 hours.
“I think there’s going to be a lot of push to get away from caucuses,” he said.