Sonoma County elections officials say they know of no local election interference after a wave of calls from voters who have not received their mail ballots for the Nov. 3 election, The Press Democrat reported.
Why it matters: Any voter who still has no ballot can get a replacement or vote in person, and seven vote centers open Saturday, Oct. 24.
What officials say
Registrar of Voters Evelyn Mendez said her office got more calls than usual, starting the day after 321,147 mail ballots went to the Postal Service on Oct. 5. In many cases the ballot was just delayed, she said. Other causes include voters who moved without updating their registration, ballots sent to a PO box, or ballots sitting in unsorted mail.
As of Wednesday, 2,959 ballots had been reissued, compared with 6,414 in the whole 2024 general election. More than 40,000 ballots had already been returned. When a ballot is reissued, the old one is voided.
A Postal Service spokesperson told The Press Democrat there is no backlog of election mail in San Francisco or at the North Bay Petaluma plant. KSRO also reported the USPS found no backlog.
At a Petaluma press conference, Rep. Jared Huffman urged anyone without a ballot to contact the registrar and fix any registration problem.
Vote centers open Oct. 24
Open daily 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. through Nov. 2, and 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Election Day:
- Abel De Luna Community Center, Healdsburg
- Petaluma Community Center
- Rohnert Park Community Center
- Veterans Memorial Building, Santa Rosa
- Registrar of Voters, 3880 Brickway Blvd., Santa Rosa
- Sebastopol Center for the Arts
- Faith Lutheran Church of Sonoma Valley, Sonoma
Twenty-five more open Oct. 31. Officials advise against dropping ballots in USPS collection boxes on or the day before Election Day; use a drop box, a vote center, or ask a post office clerk for a manual postmark. Details are at socovotes.com.
Sources: The Press Democrat; KSRO.