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The polls are now open in Sonoma County and will close at 8 PM tonight.
Thirty-one vote centers will allow you to vote in person. You can also drop off your ballot at any one of these centers or any drop box location in Sonoma County as long as it is before 8 PM. Of course, you can also drop off your ballot by mail as long as it is postmarked by today’s. Even if you aren’t registered, you can still conditionally register and vote at any of the vote centers. Those ballots will be processed and counted once the county elections office has completed the voter registration verification process.
Click here for a direct link to the Sonoma County Registrar of Voters website. It includes vote centers and drop box locations, voter guides, and other information vital to election day.
Of course, the presidential election is getting most of the attention nationwide but there are several races to watch locally including the race for Santa Rosa’s district 5 council seat featuring Caroline Bañuelos and Jeremy Newton. Council races will be decided for the cities of Santa Rosa, Cloverdale, Petaluma, Healdsburg, Cotati, Windsor, Sebastopol, and Sonoma. There are also several state assembly and senate races to watch, including assembly district two between Santa Rosa’s Chris Rogers and Del Norte County’s Mike Greer.
Several measures and props will also be decided today. In Sonoma County, the most notable being Measure J which could close many animal feeding operations if passed. Other notables include Measure Q in Windsor over limits to the town’s waste removal contracts and Measure S in Cotati which would remove the city’s ban on roundabouts. For the state ballot, a lot of eyes are on Prop 36 which would allow felony charges and increase sentences for certain drug and theft Crimes. Another key one is Prop 33 which would give local governments more power on rent control if passed.