Gustine residents looking to either vote in-person or drop off their ballot ahead of the November election will do so inside the community room at the Gustine Library after city council voted 4-0 to make it the voting center location.

Residents can begin voting in-person or dropping off their ballots prior to Election Day on Saturday, October 31 to Monday, November 2, from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Hours will be extended on Tuesday, November 3, from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.

In previous years, the Al Gamon Community Center has been used as the city’s voting location with locals associating it as the primary place to go for elections. That changed in California’s primary election with the library’s community room as Al Gamon was reserved for another event at the time, according to the agenda report.

While it has a larger facility and provides attendees more restrooms than the library’s community room, Al Gamon costs significantly more to rent at $653 per day compared to $93 per day at the library.

While Al Gamon has a history of providing more room for large attendances, there is not a significant difference in voter activity between the two locations, according to the Merced County Registrar of Voters. Based on the data, staff from the Merced County Elections Department told city staff that they do not have a preference on either of the two locations, per the agenda report.

According to the registrar of voters, Gustine’s voting location ranked 13th out 14 voting locations across the county during the June primary election.

In addition to the reduced cost, Gustine Recreational Manager Tiffany Vitorino said the community room is easier for staff to clean in comparison to Al Gamon. “It takes a lot longer to mop the floor and clean the restrooms because they’re a lot larger,” Vitorino said about cleaning up Al Gamon.

Mayor Pro Tem Rich Ford said there needs to be a set location of where voters can go for elections moving forward.

In response to Ford, City Manager Melanie Correa said city staff will use its resources such as its newsletters and signage at city hall to inform residents where they can go.

Mayor Patrick Nagy said the library should be the main location for elections moving forward to avoid any confusion from residents.

While there has been a consistent location for residents to vote in-person or drop off their ballot, this was not the case last November in the state’s Proposition 50 special election. Following a ballot box being removed from the city hall 75 minutes before its deadline and the lack of an in-person voting site, Gustine voters were left confused and frustrated about the situation, according to previous reporting from the Westside Connect.

Councilmember Mark Melville said his first time going to the library for the primary election went “very, very smooth.”

“I’ve got no problem in recommending that we go with the library, and keep it at the library from here on out,” Melville said.