The County of Sacramento Voter Information Guide for the Nov. 3th General Election has probably arrived in your mailbox by now (reminder: PLEASE VOTE). This year the County offers ballot drop boxes (Oct. 5 - Nov. 3) and Vote Centers (Oct. 24 - Nov. 3) for ballot-drops and in-person voting. Voters can also mail their ballots postage-free at mail boxes and Post Offices.

The Voters Guide lists ballot drop box locations, which is helfpful for people who might be concerned about the reliability of U.S. Mail delivery, given the national controversy over how the Post Office is run. There are 3 ballot drop boxes in Arden Arcade at:

• Arden Dimick Library at 891 Watt Ave.
• Bel-Air market at 4320 Arden Way
• Raley's market at 3518 Marconi

The Voters Guide has a detailed list of vote centers. There are 84 vote centers scattered around the County, 6 more than in 2018. For the 2020 General Elections there are 5 in Arden Arcade (up from 4 in 2018), but at slightly different locations than before. This time they are at:

• Lutheran Church of Our Redeemer at 4641 Marconi (open Oct. 24-Nov. 3)
• Conzelmann Community Center in Howe Park at 2201 Cottage (open Oct. 24-Nov. 3)
• Arcade Library at 2443 Marconi (open Oct. 31-Nov. 3)
• Arden Dimick LIbrary at 891 Watt Avenue (open Oct. 31-Nov. 3)
• Rio Americano High School at 4540, American River Drive (open Oct. 31-Nov. 3)

Once again, though, you would not necessarily know those Arden Arcade vote centers were actually in Arden Arcade — they are all listed as being in Sacramento. To the casual citizen, that sounds like the City of Sacramento. As we have said before, sometimes people here don’t know they do not live in the City of Sacramento, and it doesn’t help when the media and official publications like the County Voter Information Guide add to the confusion. Within the unincorporated UnCity, six unincorporated communities, including Areden Arcade, are in Susan Peters’ Supervisorial District. But only three — Carmichael, Fair Oaks and North Highlands — are shown in the Voter Guide as having vote centers in their actual communities. This is the fourth election in a row that the County has hidden our unincorporated community within “Sacramento”. Sorry, but there is NO excuse for that!

The invisibility that inflicts Arden Arcade continues. It’s like the freeway exit ramp signs that point to Carmichael but do not tell you that you have to drive through Arden Arcade to get there. Our community does not exist. We don’t matter. And the County does not care. Will our new Supervisor fix this?