This just came over the transom from OC Registrar of Voters Neal Kelley:

Orange County Sample Ballots Enhanced

Santa Ana, CA - December 2007 - The Orange County Registrar of Voters office has made changes to the Sample Ballot pamphlet that voters will receive prior to the 2008 Presidential Primary election (February 5, 2008). In the past voters received a Sample Ballot based on the ballot type for their precinct and party. Now voters will receive a consolidated Sample Ballot with all of the party style ballots for their precinct.

"We were looking at ways to streamline the process for creating and mailing Sample Ballots," said Registrar of Voters, Neal Kelley. "We learned that by consolidating the ballot styles for each precinct into one easy-to-use Sample Ballot, we could save time and space on our end while saving money for the taxpayers," he continued. Registered voters that have Declined to State a party affiliation will receive a Sample Ballot that is not consolidated with the party ballots. The Registrar of Voters office continues its goal of being at the forefront of election services. The time it takes to sort individual Sample Ballot Styles for each precinct and party is staggering. The old process involved much of the Registrar of Voters staff when preparing supplies for Election Day. The new Sample Ballot will alleviate the need for large numbers of employees working on this effort prior to the election. You can click on files at left which are sample images of the changes voters will see in their new Sample Ballots.

Once again, Neal Kelley demonstrates why is the best ROV in the state: continually looking for ways to conduct the business of his agency faster, better and less expensively. I spoke to Neal about this change a couple of weeks ago, and he estimates it will save around $50,000 (and I think that's in printing costs alone).

And according to the ROV newsletter following hot on the heels of the above press release, the ROV webiste will offer this new feature:

A new feature will soon be added to our website. Voters will be able to enter their address and receive an approximate wait time for their poll site during heavy volume.