Large voter turnout expected in Sonoma County

The last Sonoma County voters will cast ballots today. For some, the chance to signal approval or disapproval of President Donald Trump is as important as choosing city council or school board members.

Although Trump isn’t on the ballot, his shadow hangs over polling booths, and is likely the reason local elections officials expect an 80 percent voter turnout, higher than in previous midterm elections.

On Monday, a steady stream of residents visited the county’s main elections office on Fiscal Drive in Santa Rosa. Election excitement was clearly evident, said Bill Rousseau, the county’s clerk-recorder-assessor and elections chief.

“The energy is really high,” Rousseau said Monday. “Today actually feels like Election Day.”

Residents dropped off completed ballots, voted on the spot and registered to vote.

Rousseau said a recent change to state voting rules allows eligible voters to register after the Oct. 22 registration deadline. Such voters can cast a conditional ballot up until 8 p.m. today.

“That makes for a lot of activity on Election Day,” Rousseau said.

At least 274,346 people are registered to vote in the county, almost 30,000 more than were registered in the last midterm election in 2014, Rousseau said. The turnout then was 60 percent, he said.

This year’s voter participation could be higher than the 75 percent turnout in the 2006 and 2010 midterm elections, he said. However, it’ll likely be lower than the 2016 and 2012 presidential elections, which had turnout of 86 and 84 percent, respectively.

For George Macias, 54, of Cloverdale, today’s election is as important as a presidential election.

“If you care about today’s issue, you should vote,” Macias said, shortly after obtaining a ballot from the county’s main elections office. “It shouldn’t take four years for you to care.”

Macias, who described himself as an independent who leans Democrat, said he hopes Democrats can win back the House in Congress so they can once again be part of the “conversation” in Washington. Democrats need to gain a net 23 seats to win control of the House.

Sonoma County voters have the opportunity to choose candidates for a number of national, state and local offices, including the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, California governor, state legislature, and schools superintendent.

Local voters also will be asked to pick candidates for Santa Rosa Junior College Board and numerous other school boards, as well as city and town council members in Cloverdale, Cotati, Healdsburg, Petaluma, Rohnert Park, Santa Rosa, Sonoma, Sebastopol and Windsor.

Also on the 2018 ballot are 12 state initiatives. They include: Proposition 1, a $4 billion bond act for veterans housing; Proposition 6, which would eliminate recently approved taxes and fees for roadway repairs and public transportation; and Proposition 10, which would expand local governments’ authority to enact rent control measures.

In Santa Rosa, Measure M would enact a one-eighth cent sales tax for the next 10 years for parks improvements. Measure N calls for a $124 million housing bond to assist in the local post-fire housing recovery, and Measure O would enact a quarter-cent sales tax to support city services such as police, street and sidewalk maintenance and public improvements.

Rousseau said some 900 poll workers will be on hand at 185 voting places throughout the county. But three-quarters of county voters will have already mailed in their ballots, or at least they should have, he said.

Of the 202,000 vote-by-mail ballots sent out, only about 100,000 had been sent in as of Sunday.

On Monday, many mail-in voters dropped off their ballots at the main elections office.

Rousseau said mail-in ballots dropped off at a polling place or the main elections office on or close to Election Day will take longer to process. That, in turn, delays the final election results, he said.

“We love people voting by mail-in voting, but we really wish people would vote early,” he said.

Mail-in ballots must be postmarked no later than today to be counted.

Laurie Gallian, chair of the Sonoma County Democratic Party, also expects a higher than usual turnout this election. She said many in the county are energized and started the week with voting in mind.

“The conversation is ‘have you voted,’ rather than ‘how are you doing’ or ‘how are you feeling?’ That’s the greeting.” Gallian said. “The amount of people who have been energized to vote has absolutely been incredible.”

Krista Sherer of Sebastopol visited the elections office Monday to have her ballot replaced. Her last name was spelled incorrectly, and she wanted to make sure her vote was not disqualified because of that.

“It was important to have my name spelled correctly - it’s an important election,” Sherer said. “These are very important times to have your voice counted.”

You can reach Staff Writer Martin Espinoza at 707-521-5213 or martin.espinoza@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @renofish.