Information guides to be mailed to Windsor voters for April special election

County voter information guides will begin going out in the mail on Thursday, March 3, to nearly 16,000 Town of Windsor voters for a small special election taking place on April 12 to fill a vacant at-large Windsor Town Council seat. Please note that this election only applies to voters residing in the Town of Windsor. All other Sonoma County voters do not have an election this April.

Registrar of Voters Deva Marie Proto reminds voters that delivery of voter information guides takes longer than regular first class mail. Voters who have not received such a booklet by March 18 are encouraged to contact the Registrar of Voters Office to make sure they are still on the mailing list and, if necessary, be sent a replacement. Voters who have opted out of receiving a paper copy of the voter information guide can view it online by visiting the Registrar of Voters homepage and clicking on the “County Voter Information Guide” link in the “Upcoming Elections” special announcement box.

Alternatively, voters can go to the direct link for the voter information guide.

Vote-by-mail ballots for the April 12 special Election will go out in the mail beginning March 14 and voters should expect to receive them within five to 10 days. Due to the passage of Assembly Bill 37 last year, all active, registered voters in California are now automatically mailed a ballot in every election in which they are eligible to vote. Also starting on March 14, voters who cannot or prefer not to wait for their ballot to arrive in the mail may pick one up at the Registrar of Voters Office. A voter may also authorize somebody to pick up their ballot for them with a signed note.

The April 12 special Election will be the first election in Sonoma County to be conducted under the Voter’s Choice Act election model. Named after the law on which it is based, the objective of this model is to give voters more flexibility regarding how, when and where to cast their ballots. For example, in-person voting now takes place at vote centers, which are open multiple days, instead of polling places, which are traditionally only open on Election Day itself.

For more information about the Voter’s Choice Act, visit the Registrar of Voters homepage and click on the various links in the “Sonoma County Is Now Officially a ‘Voter’s Choice Act’ County!” special announcement box. For more details about the April 12 special Election contact the Registrar of Voters Office at 435 Fiscal Drive, Santa Rosa, CA 95403, by telephone at (707) 565-6800, and by email at rov-info@sonoma-county.org, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.