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Amid steep budget cuts, the San Benito County Elections Department is working to ensure residents can cast their ballots in the Nov. 4 special election, when voters will decide on Proposition 50.
San Benito County Registrar of Voters Francsico Diaz said the budget cuts will mean some changes and challenges for local balloting on the statewide redistricting measure aimed at countering Republican-led electoral map changes in red states ahead of the 2026 midterms.
Diaz told BenitoLink that while the election will proceed as planned, the department is operating with fewer resources.
“We are having to do more with less,” Díaz said. “The election is still going to be conducted, but there are just a lot fewer services available, or people to do the job.”
These cuts, he said, mean fewer drop boxes, as well as fewer staff at polling places and, perhaps, longer wait times. He added that vote counting “might not be as quick or expedited as it has been in the past.”
After years of expenses outpacing revenues and a reliance on one-time funds, the county approved in October a budget over $40 million smaller than last year’s. It also trimmed operations and eliminated both vacant and filled positions. Countywide, 17 vacant and 12 occupied jobs were removed.
The County Clerk-Recorder Registrar of Voters office was among those hit. Its staff was reduced from 11 employees to seven in a year. Two filled positions were cut during the final budget talks, along with two vacant ones which, according to Díaz, the department was preparing to fill.
Diaz said the reductions have deeply affected the elections division. “We’re three divisions—we’re the clerk, recorder and elections,” he said. “So, ultimately, we only have two and a half full-time people dedicated to elections.”
“If you don’t have the permanent staff with the experience and the knowledge, it’s difficult to bring in more poll workers when you don’t have someone to lead them,” he said.
The cuts forced the county to reduce the number of drop boxes from eight to four, and those that remain will be located in San Juan Bautista, Ridgemark, the county library, and the Community Food Bank.
Still, Diaz said he feels grateful for the community’s response. Despite roughly a quarter of poll workers leaving, others—including independents and members of both the Republican and the Democratic parties—have stepped up to volunteer, and some have even agreed to delayed payments.
Diaz expects all ballots to be counted within two to three weeks after polls close.
“Ultimately, this is not a situation that I wanted to be in,” he said. “Hopefully, in the next couple years, the financial situation improves so we can increase services again and have more presence in the community. What I want is to make sure people have the opportunity to vote, and it’s an easy, seamless process.”
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