What's at stake:
Only one faith-based location will serve as a vote center, and one church will have a ballot drop box. These are the only two sites among thousands of faith-based locations.
The Rev. Tim Kutzmark said that, in the Unitarian Universalist faith, voting and participating in democratic processes are part of their core values and religious identity, and that the church believes it serves the community by providing a ballot drop box.
“Having vote centers, polling places, or ballot drop boxes at churches almost guarantees an increase in the number of citizens participating in democracy because going to church is a typical pattern for a certain percentage of the population,” said Kutzmark. “The more opportunities people have to vote or drop their ballot, the more people will participate in what is the most important election of our lifetime.”
Kutzmark said that he’s pleased with his church serving as a ballot drop box location and intends to continue. For many years, the church has volunteered to help out during elections, even after an ugly legal battle emerged in 2019 over the church’s “Black Lives Matter” banner. The court battle eventually reached a settlement in 2020 that included a deal to allow the church to continue serving as a drop off center — while displaying their Black Lives Matter messages — through the upcoming November election.
While Kutzmark said he believes the church will continue its election volunteering efforts, church participation in elections in general has been trending downward in recent years.
Previously, more faith-based locations functioned as polling places before Fresno County adopted the California Voter’s Choice Act, starting with the March 2020 primary election. This statewide voting model modernized elections by expanding early voting options, increasing the number of secure ballot drop-off locations, and mailing every registered voter a ballot.
In the past, voters had to cast their ballots at assigned polling places, including faith-based sites such as University Vineyard Church, First Baptist Church of Clovis, and Temple Beth Israel. Now, voters can vote at any vote center in their county and have access to dozens of ballot drop boxes.
Fresno County’s voter turnout saw a significant increase after the Voter’s Choice Act (VCA) was enacted, according to Fresno County Election Data. In the March 2018 primary, turnout was 31.08%, and in the November 2018 general election, it reached 56.40%. By the 2020 elections, turnout climbed to 42.25% in the March primary and 74.65% in the November general election.
Yet, Fresno’s voter turnout was relatively low for the most recent March election, at 30.84% of registered voters sending in their ballots.
For the upcoming November election, Fresno County has 53 vote centers and 67 ballot drop boxes.
Only one faith-based location will serve as a vote center and a single faith-based site currently hosts a ballot drop box.
The Sierra Community Center, located at the Badr Islamic Center in north Fresno, will serve as a vote center. It will be open from Nov. 2 to 4, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and on Election Day, Nov. 5, from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Additionally, a ballot drop box is available at the Unitarian Universalist Church in northeast Fresno, which was installed on Oct. 3. Voters can deposit their ballots there until the end of the day on Nov. 5.
Both locations have played important roles in past elections, with the Unitarian Universalist Church serving as a ballot drop site since November 2020, and the Sierra Community Center becoming a vote center in June 2022.
Why are faith-based locations not used as vote centers or ballot drop boxes?
James Kus, Fresno County Clerk, said he’s satisfied with both locations and the number of ballots they receive, and he plans to keep them on the list for future elections unless directed otherwise. While there was some initial pushback about not using traditional faith-based polling places, especially in areas south of Shaw and older parts of Fresno, there were no objections to the overall decision to move away from faith-based locations.
However, Kus noted that participation from organizations, including churches, wanting to serve as vote centers has decreased in recent years.
After Fresno County transitioned from a polling place-based model to a vote center model under the VCA, the Fresno County Clerk/Registrar of Voters re-evaluated all locations used in previous elections, as well as additional sites proposed by community members.
These suggestions came either from faith-based organizations directly expressing interest in hosting a vote center or ballot drop box, or were raised during public meetings. These meetings were part of Fresno County’s election administration plan process, which outlines procedures for voter outreach, voting locations, and ballot handling.
The department aims to establish vote centers and ballot drop box locations around March to cover both the June and November elections in 2026. December is when the department locked down locations for this year’s March and November elections.
Public meetings help Fresno County determine the locations of vote centers and ballot drop boxes. Meetings were held in 2019 and 2021, with lower turnout in 2021, and another is scheduled for 2025. These meetings will now take place every four years to reassess locations as part of the election administration plan.
At the 2019 meeting, about 100 locations were suggested, and the Fresno County clerk worked to match them to an election heat map, which visualizes areas with higher voter concentrations to identify optimal sites for vote centers and ballot drop boxes. They aimed to balance having locations within each neighborhood, ensuring some in every supervisorial district, at least one in every city, and providing transit access.
In Fresno County, faith-based facilities are often located in areas where the county’s community infrastructure is still developing. Compared to other facilities like schools, faith-based organizations tend to be more spread out. Many newer faith-based locations are larger and situated in growing neighborhoods, while smaller ones are typically found in older areas.
Kus said that many faith-based facilities in Fresno County no longer meet current ADA accessibility standards. While these older buildings were compliant when originally constructed, the transition to the VCA model now requires stricter legal standards.
For potential ballot drop box locations, it’s important that the boxes are placed in areas that are always accessible to the public, which isn’t always guaranteed.
The Fresno County clerk utilizes a 62-page ADA survey to assess potential vote center locations that includes photographs and detailed evaluations of various accessibility aspects. The survey examines eight key areas: parking, the path of travel to the voting area, doors, hallways and entrances, the voting area, signage, ramps and slopes, curb ramps, and restrooms.
Kus said some facilities do make the necessary changes to ensure they can function as a vote center, but he acknowledged the financial burden that could place on many local churches.
“I don’t want to impose $100,000 in repairs on your congregation or something you may not have,” said Kus.
The VCA also requires that vote centers be open to the public for at least four days and as much as 11 days, including Saturdays and Sundays. Many faith-based facilities that the county had partnered with for years prior to the transition were unable to accommodate this requirement, which also affected the county’s ability to use schools.
Do other surrounding Central Valley counties have faith-based locations for this election?
Fresnoland reached out to four county registrars of voters to ask if there are faith-based locations that serve as both a vote center and a ballot drop box for the current election cycle.
In Fresno County, the number of faith-based vote centers and ballot drop boxes is comparable to that in Merced, Madera, and Kings counties, with each having fewer than 10.
Three of four counties operate vote centers instead of polling places. San Joaquin County, who operates through a polling place model, has the largest number of polling places that are faith-based.
“The Registrar thinks it is important to engage the community in all aspects and to partner with the faith-based community,” said Olivia Hale, San Joaquin’s Registrar of Voters, “We actually work with Faith in the Valley; they connect us with the faith-based community events that are civically engaging and appropriate for us to support.”
Each county's approach to selecting faith-based locations for voting centers or ballot drop boxes during election cycles involves analyzing a variety of factors. These considerations include the demographics of the local population, access to public transportation, site security, and overall accessibility, among others.
Melvin E. Levey, registrar of voters for Merced County, said, “More important than the type of location is being able to meet voters where they are.”
“The churches that have graciously chosen to work with us understand the importance of civic engagement in the community and are locations that meet and exceed many of those factors,” said Levey. “They allow us to meet voters where they are in their lives and bring the critical service of administering elections to the voters of this county.”
Fresno County will have 10 vote centers available starting 10 days before Election Day, which is Saturday, Oct. 26. An additional 43 vote centers will open the Saturday before Election Day, on Nov. 2. The downtown office, functioning as a vote center, has been open since Monday, Oct. 7, during regular business hours from Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. All 67 ballot drop boxes are now in place and accepting ballots throughout Fresno County.
How can community members help their facility be considered for future elections?
The Fresno County Clerk will begin drafting a new election administration plan and conducting community meetings that will take at least six to nine months, starting in March 2025 and running through early fall. The Fresno CCROV also plans to enhance online access, although this may increase attendance without necessarily improving meaningful participation from those directly affected.
By law, the Fresno CCROV must complete the process 120 days before an election takes place. The next upcoming election is the June 2026 statewide primary. Kus said it is unclear if any elections will occur before the June primary next year. Any special or regular elections will be managed under the existing election administration plan to ensure proper guidelines and avoid rushing.
Community meetings will take place in Kerman, South Fresno, Sanger, North Fresno, and Clovis, starting in March and continuing through May. These initial meetings will cover the basics and gather feedback.
Following this, the Fresno CCROV will draft a plan, translate it into multiple languages, and hold additional meetings for revisions. Kus said while participation may decline in later meetings, the goal is to engage community members from different areas and priorities throughout spring, summer, and fall, finalizing the plan by year’s end in preparation for the 2026 election process.
Kus said he already has a list of churches in mind to serve as vote centers and ballot drop boxes in 2026. For potential vote centers, the churches are located in prime areas, have large parking lots, and meet the basic ADA requirements. Some of the larger facilities, including mega churches from various denominations, offer additional advantages, as they often have rooms available for public use, even on weekends. Kus just needs to confirm with them that they can remain open for the full four-day voting period.
“I want them ready to come and help out because this process really is intended to improve our services,” said Kus. “We are looking to get that, ‘hey, how can we help this community more? How can we serve better?’”
