Marin County voters have fewer choices than usual this fall. According to the Marin County Elections Department, 55 races have no competition on the Nov. 3 ballot: six city council seats, 30 special district positions and 19 school district seats.

Appointed instead of elected

State law lets the Board of Supervisors appoint special district candidates when the number who file equals the number of open seats. On Sept. 8 the board approved 54 such appointments across about 30 districts. The registrar's list includes Marin Municipal Water District Divisions 1, 3 and 4 (Matthew Samson, Ranjiv Khush and Erika Lovejoy), Marin Healthcare District Division 4 (Jennifer Rienks), Novato Fire Divisions 4 and 5 (Bruce F. Goines and Bill Davis), North Marin Water Division 1 (Ken Eichstaedt), and boards such as Las Gallinas Valley Sanitary, Tiburon Fire, Kentfield Fire, Sanitary District No. 5 and Sausalito-Marin City Sanitary.

Too few people filed for Alto Sanitary District, Mesa Park Recreation District and Stinson Beach Fire Protection District. Supervisors can appoint any qualified voter to fill those seats.

School boards

Bolinas-Stinson Union, Laguna Joint and Nicasio school districts did not get enough candidates. In every other Marin school district with a seat up, the number of candidates matched the number of seats.

Why some uncontested races still appear

Registrar Natalie Adona said many uncontested city races stay on the ballot because state law requires it when the city also has a local measure. Belvedere asked to keep its race on the ballot even without a measure; see our Belvedere explainer. Adona also warned that appointments can shift decisions away from voters in small, low-turnout districts and can reinforce insider networks.

A contested Marin Healthcare race is still on the ballot; see our guide.

How to vote

Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3. Polls and vote centers close at 8 p.m., and mailed ballots must be postmarked by Election Day and arrive within seven days. You can check your registration and ballot status at sos.ca.gov/elections. California lets you register and vote the same day at a vote center.