175 polling locations for Sonoma County's special election on Measure A

Polls open at 7 a.m. Tuesday for Sonoma County voters casting ballots on Measure A, the five-year, quarter-cent sales tax measure that county officials and allies among construction and environmental groups have touted as the best way to fix the county’s crumbling roads - among the worst in the Bay Area.

Nearly 72 percent of the county’s 240,045 registered voters cast their votes by mail-in ballot. Only 38 percent of vote-by-mail ballots - a tally of 65,473 - have been returned as of Monday, officials said.

“We see a lot of mail-in ballots coming in on Election Day,” said Liz Acosta, chief deputy registrar of voters. “People return them in person to make sure they’re counted.”

A total of 175 polling locations will be available throughout the county Tuesday for those casting conventional ballots or dropping off their mail-in ballots. Polls will be open until 8 p.m.

Election officials said with the off-election year and nothing else on the ballot to drive voters to the polls, they expect significantly low turnout - 30 to 35 percent - for the special election.

“We’re hopeful that those numbers could climb,” Acosta said. “People can return their ballots and vote right up until the end.”

The cost for the special election, originally pegged at $361,602, is likely to rise and could reach $450,000, depending on how many poll workers are needed and the amount of overtime county election workers work, Acosta said.

“We can’t predict the exact turnout, so we’ll have to wait and see how much staffing we need to manage the volume,” she said.

If approved by a simple majority, Measure A would generate up to $20 million in the first year - with annual revenues expected to rise by 3 percent thereafter. It would allow county and city elected officials to spend tax revenue for any government purpose, though county supervisors and some city officials have pledged that they intend to spend the money on road fixes, with a small portion set aside for public transit programs.

The proceeds would be split, with 44 percent - or about $8.7 million in the first year - going to the county annually, and the remainder divided among the nine cities, based on population and road miles.

If approved, the sales tax rate for unincorporated Sonoma County, Cloverdale, Petaluma and Windsor would jump to 8.5 percent. Healdsburg, Rohnert Park, Santa Rosa and Sonoma would see their sales tax rates rise to 9 percent. Sebastopol sales taxes would be 9.25 percent, and Cotati would have the highest rate, at 9.5 percent.

You can reach Staff Writer Angela Hart at 526-8503 or angela.hart@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @ahartreports.