The vote goes on: More drop-off boxes, extended polling period

Deva Proto faces an unusual set of circumstances in her first general election as county registrar|

Voting made easy in tough times

Sonoma County Registrar of Voters: sonomacounty.ca.gov/CRA/Registrar-of-Voters.

Check voter registration status: voterstatus.sos.ca.gov.

Register to vote: registertovote.ca.gov.

Track your ballot: wheresmyballot.S0S.ca.gov

The Registrar of Voters is also seeking volunteers to work at polling places during the election; see their website (above) or call (707) 565-6800.

The County Clerk-Recorder-Assessor-Registrar of Voters office is located at 435 Fiscal Drive, Santa Rosa (currently open 8 a.m. to noon).

In this year of pandemics, street demonstrations, tropical thunderstorms and red-flag warnings, it seems the whole nation is going postal. But the vote will go on, if Deva Marie Proto has anything to do about it.

And she does. Proto is Sonoma County’s County Clerk-Recorder-Assessor-Registrar of Voters, a job she won in the last election in 2018. Which means this will be her first general election, but having been through the experience of last March’s primary – with not just one ballot to prepare, but seven for each registered party – she’s expecting it to go well.

“Currently, 80 percent of Sonoma County residents vote by mail, so we will not have a problem processing an increase in ballots received in the mail,” Proto said recently. Taking no chances, however, she announced a public feedback period on 30 proposed in-person voting locations to be open four days instead of just one, as well as a minimum of 20 secure ballot dropbox locations across the county for a full month of voting in the Nov. 3 General Election, starting 29 days before the election, or Oct. 5.

Those are just two of the giant steps Proto is taking to make sure Sonoma residents can have confidence that their votes are being received and recorded.

The reason she’s looking for voting locations is that many of the volunteers who staff precincts tend to be older – the exact population most at risk for coronavirus – so polling places may be woefully understaffed. And many usual voting locations such as schools or senior centers are closed now, and may still be closed come Nov. 3. Additionally, those usual voting locations may be too small to support a heavy voter turnout in a time when social distancing is a health requirement.

Then there’s the question of the United States Postal Service, and whether or not their current effort to tighten belts to save costs presents a steep challenge to voters hoping to be sure their votes get counted. “We have weekly calls with the USPS for California and we've had meetings with our local representative,” she said. “They have a shortage, but we should not see a change in mail delivery in this county.”

New this year, all registered voters will receive a vote-by-mail ballot in the mail in October. They will have the choice of mailing it in; dropping it off at the registrar’s office at 435 Fiscal Drive, Santa Rosa; using one of 20 or more secure dropbox locations; or handing it in or voting at a polling place.

Yet putting it all together – concerns about the postal service, coronavirus and staffing, to say nothing of the complexity of a vote with 120 different ballot variations from 285,000 confirmed registered voters – Proto decided to make adjustments to this November’s vote: Instead of the usual one-day precinct-level voting (as well as the usual vote-by-mail process), there will be 30 in-person voting locations across the county, open for walk-in votes not just on one day but four, from Saturday, Oct. 31 through Election Day, Nov. 3.

The voting locations will be in larger facilities, such as veterans halls and gymnasiums, to allow for voters to keep their distance as they exercise their voting rights. “We want to make sure people have the ability to spread out,” said Proto, not only in space but in time. The locations will be open for eight hours each day from Saturday through Monday (specific hours to be announced) and 13 hours, from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., on Election Day, Nov. 3.

Similarly, the 20-plus ballot drop-off boxes will be spread throughout the county, and the current public feedback initiative is intended to identify secure sites where the dropboxes can be located. “You could always come into our office starting 29 days before election, but this is the first time it’s being done elsewhere in the county,” said Proto. An interactive map of the proposed dropbox locations and in-person voting places, is on the registrar’s webpage at sonomacounty.ca.gov/CRA/Registrar-of-Voters/

The map shows three dropbox locations being considered for the Sonoma Valley (in El Verano, Glen Ellen and Kenwood) and three voting places (at the Moose Lodge, the Sonoma Valley Veterans Memorial Building and the Berger Center in Oakmont). There’s a list of criteria for choosing a location, and a “location feedback” button for users to make their own suggestions or add comments until Monday, Aug. 24.

“(We) want people to know they are trusted locations,” said the registrar, citing places such as libraries, vets buildings and fire stations.

Proto suggests if a voter has recently moved or has other reasons to think their registration may have been dropped, for whatever reason, to check their status on the California secretary of state’s website, at voterstatus.sos.ca.gov/. Potential voters can also register on the website at registertovote.ca.gov/. The deadline to register to vote for any election is 15 days before Election Day; this year that’s Oct. 19.

Proto, 39, has worked for the county since 2007, and in the county clerk’s office since 2009. She grew up in west Sonoma County, and has a bachelor’s degree and a master’s in Public Administration from Sonoma State University. When the previous registrar William Rousseau retired in 2018, after six years in the role, she won the race to replace him in that year’s primary election, with 64 percent of the vote.

But no single person can do it all, and Proto is quick to applaud the staff of 15 at the registrar’s office who help with registration issues, ballot and information booklet proofing and production, and eventually the vote counting itself.

“We have a fabulous team, and I have a lot of faith in them,” said Proto. “They are all completely dedicated and we're all working really hard to make sure the election is successful.”

Email Christian at christian.kallen@sonomanews.com.

Voting made easy in tough times

Sonoma County Registrar of Voters: sonomacounty.ca.gov/CRA/Registrar-of-Voters.

Check voter registration status: voterstatus.sos.ca.gov.

Register to vote: registertovote.ca.gov.

Track your ballot: wheresmyballot.S0S.ca.gov

The Registrar of Voters is also seeking volunteers to work at polling places during the election; see their website (above) or call (707) 565-6800.

The County Clerk-Recorder-Assessor-Registrar of Voters office is located at 435 Fiscal Drive, Santa Rosa (currently open 8 a.m. to noon).

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