Special Elections Calendar of EventsMay 5, 2020

Sonoma County Registrar of Voters

The following calendar is intended to provide general information and does not have the force or effect of law, regulation or rule.  References to code sections were accurate on the date of publication, but changes may have occurred since then.  Thus, the references are provided for convenience only and should not be relied upon.  It is distributed with the understanding that the Registrar of Voters is not rendering legal advice and that this calendar is not a substitute for legal counsel.  In the case of conflict, the law, rule or regulation will apply.

Deva Marie Proto, 
County Clerk & Registrar of Voters

For dates that fall on a Saturday, Sunday or holiday, use the next regular business day for transactions.  Please note that the following holidays are legal holidays observed by the County of Sonoma.  They may not be the same holidays recognized by other counties or by the Secretary of State’s Office.

2020

Top

Committees

Verification of Independent Expenditures - Committees That Support or Oppose Candidates For State Or Local Offices » The Verification of Independent Expenditures (Form 462) is used to identify an individual responsible for ensuring that the campaign committee’s independent expenditures were not coordinated with the listed candidate or measure committee (or the opponent) and that the committee will report all contributions and reimbursements as required by law. An independent expenditure is not subject to state or local contribution limits. This form must be emailed to the Fair Political Practices Commission within 10 days of an independent expenditure of $1,000 or more

Committees

Independent Expenditures - Committees That Support or Oppose Candidates for County Offices » Any person who makes independent expenditures in support of or in opposition to any county candidate, which accumulate to one thousand dollars ($1,000.00) or more during an election cycle shall notify the county registrar of voters by email, facsimile, or by any other electronic means accepted by the county registrar of voters within twenty-four (24) hours each time such an expenditure is made. Any person who makes an independent expenditure that exceeds ten thousand dollars ($10,000) or more during an election cycle shall notify the county registrar of voters and all candidates running for the same seat, by email, facsimile, or by any other electronic means accepted by the county registrar of voters, within twenty-four (24) hours each time such an expenditure is made.

February 5 to May 5 (-90 to -0) Committees

90-day reporting period of 24-hour contribution/independent expenditure reporting period » Ballot measure and recipient committees that make or receive a late contribution or loan that totals in the aggregate $1,000 or more, must report the late monetary contribution within 24 hours and non-monetary contributions within 48 hours by personal delivery, email, fax, or guaranteed overnight service.

February 7 (-88) Governing Body/Registrar of Voters

Consolidation order – other than school district governing board elections » Notice of Election and Map of District Boundaries – < em>Special Districts » Whenever an election called by a district, city or other political subdivision for the submission of any question, proposition or office to be filled, is to be consolidated with a statewide election (or in the case of local elections, when no specific procedure is specified), the jurisdiction calling the election shall, not later than 5:00 PM on this date, file with the Board of Supervisors, and a copy to the Registrar of Voters Office, a resolution of its governing board requesting such consolidation and setting forth the exact form of any question, proposition or office to be voted upon at such election, as it is to appear on the ballot. Measures that exceed 75 words must be abbreviated to 75 words or less to appear on the ballot. The resolution requesting the consolidation shall be adopted and filed at the same time as the ordinance, resolution or order calling the election

February 7 (-88) Governing Body

Tax statement – bond issues» Final date for filing Tax Rate Statement. Tax Rate Statements shall be printed in the Voter Information Guide for any bond issue proposed by a county, city and county, city, district, or other political subdivision, or by any agency, department or board thereof, the security for which constitutes a lien on the property for ad valorem taxes within the jurisdiction and the proposal for which is required to be submitted to the voters for approval..

February 7 (-88) Proponent/Opponent/Registrar of Voters

Notice to submit arguments » Based on the time reasonably necessary to prepare and print arguments, analyses and Voter Information Guides and to permit the 10-day public examination period, the elections official shall fix and determine a reasonable date prior to the election after which no arguments for or against any measure may be submitted for printing and distribution to the voters.

Notice of the date by which arguments must be submitted shall be published by the elections official pursuant to Government Code §6061 (one time). Arguments may be changed until and including the date fixed by the elections official. Arguments submitted must be accompanied by a Statement of Accuracy and signed by each proponent and author, if different. Forms are available from the elections official.

February 7 (-88) County Counsel/Registrar of Voters

Request for impartial analysis–county, school or special district measure» Upon the measure’s qualification for the ballot, the Registrar of Voters Office shall transmit a copy of the measure text of each county, school or special district measure to the County Counsel, who shall prepare an Impartial Analysis of the measure. The analysis is due by the 78th day before the date of the election.

February 7 (-88) County Auditor

February 8 (-87) Registrar of Voters

Measure assignment » MEASURE ASSIGNMENT » On this day the Registrar of Voters Office will assign a letter designation to each local measure that will appear on the ballot.

February 8 to February 17 (-87 to -78 ) Public/Registrat of Voters

Public examination of materials required to be filed by the 88th day-tax rate statements, statements of qualifications, full text, etc. » Not less than 10 days before the Registrar of Voters Office submits any election materials for printing, the Registrar shall make a copy of such materials available for public examination in the Registrar of Voters Office. A fee may be charged to anyone who wishes to obtain a copy of the materials.
During the 10-calendar-day review period provided by this section, any voter of the jurisdiction in which the election is being held, or the Registrar of Voters Office, may seek a writ of mandate or an injunction requiring any or all such materials to be amended or deleted. A peremptory writ of mandate or an injunction shall be issued only upon clear and convincing proof that the material in question is false, misleading, or inconsistent with the requirements of Chapters 2-6 of Division 9 or Chapter 3 of Division 6 of the Elections Code, and that issuance of the writ or injunction will not substantially interfere with the printing or distribution of official election materials as provided by law.

February 12 (-83) Governing Body

Amendment or withdrawal of ballot measures–last day » Notwithstanding any other provision of law, whenever a legislative body has ordered that a measure or proposal be submitted to the voters of any jurisdiction at a special election, the order of election shall not be amended or withdrawn after the 83rd day prior to the election.

The order of election shall be amended or withdrawn upon the filing of a resolution by the legislative body stating the specifics concerning the amendment or withdrawal. The resolution shall be filed with the elections official not later than the 83rd day prior to the election.

February 13 to February 22 (-82 to -73) Public/Registrar of Voters

Public examination of materials required to be filed by the 83rd day–candidates statements extension » Not less than 10 days before the Registrar of Voters Office submits any election materials for printing, the Registrar shall make a copy of such materials available for public examination in the Registrar of Voters Office. A fee may be charged to anyone who wishes to obtain a copy of the materials.

During the 10-calendar-day review period provided by this section, any voter of the jurisdiction in which the election is being held, or the Registrar of Voters Office, may seek a writ of mandate or an injunction requiring any or all such materials to be amended or deleted. A peremptory writ of mandate or an injunction shall be issued only upon clear and convincing proof that the material in question is false, misleading, or inconsistent with the requirements of Chapter 3 of Division 13 of the Elections Code and that issuance of the writ or injunction will not substantially interfere with the printing or distribution of official election materials as provided by law.

February 17 (-78) Proponents/Opponents

Arguments for or against measure–county or district measure » Final filing date for arguments for or against any measure to appear on the ballot. Arguments must be filed in the Registrar of Voters Office not later than 5:00 PM on this date.

GENERAL INFORMATION » Arguments shall not exceed 300 words and must be accompanied by a Statement of Accuracy and signed by the author(s). Forms are available from the Registrar of Voters Office (or for municipal measures, from the office of the appropriate City Clerk). Each argument shall be titled either “Argument in Favor of Measure …” or “Argument Against Measure …” (letter designation to be filled in after assignment)..

February 17 (-78) County Counsel/City Attorney

Impartial analysis-county, school or special district measure » In order to provide for the 10-calendar-day review period, this is the last day for County Counsel to transmit to the Registrar of Voters Office an Impartial Analysis of each county, school or special district measure, showing the effect on existing law and the operation of the measure. The analysis shall be printed in the Voter Information Guide along with the County Auditor’s Fiscal Analysis if requested and arguments for and/or against the measure if submitted. The Impartial Analysis shall not exceed 500 words.

February 18 to February 27 (-77 to -68) Registrar of Voters

Public examination of materials required to be filed by the 78th day-direct arguments, impartial and/or fiscal analysis » » Not less than 10 days before the Registrar of Voters Office submits any election materials for printing, the Registrar shall make a copy of such materials available for public examination in the Registrar of Voters Office. A fee may be charged to anyone who wishes to obtain a copy of the materials.

During the 10-calendar-day review period provided by this section, any voter of the jurisdiction in which the election is being held, or the Registrar of Voters Office, may seek a writ of mandate or an injunction requiring any or all such materials to be amended or deleted. A peremptory writ of mandate or an injunction shall be issued only upon clear and convincing proof that the material in question is false, misleading, or inconsistent with the requirements of Chapter 2-6 of Division 9 of the Elections Code and that issuance of the writ or injunction will not substantially interfere with the printing or distribution of official election materials as provided by law.

February 27 (-68) Proponents/Opponents

Rebuttal arguments- district measure » If both an argument in favor of and an argument against any measure have been filed, the Registrar of Voters Office shall send copies of each argument to the opposing authors(s). The opposing author(s) may, if desired, file rebuttal arguments no later than 10 days after the final date for filing direct arguments.

GENERAL INFORMATION » Rebuttal arguments shall not exceed 250 words and must be accompanied by a Statement of Accuracy and signed by the author(s). Forms are available from the Registrar of Voters Office (or for municipal measures, from the office of the appropriate City Clerk). Each argument shall be titled either “Rebuttal to Argument in Favor of Measure …” or “Rebuttal to Argument Against Measure …” (letter designation to be filled in after assignment).

February 28 to March 8 (-67 to -58) Registrar of Voters

Public examination of materials required to be filed by the 68th day-rebuttal arguments » Not less than 10 days before the Registrar of Voters Office submits any election materials for printing, the Registrar shall make a copy of such materials available for public examination in the Registrar of Voters Office. A fee may be charged to anyone who wishes to obtain a copy of the materials.

During the 10-calendar-day review period provided by this section, any voter of the jurisdiction in which the election is being held, or the Registrar of Voters Office, may seek a writ of mandate or an injunction requiring any or all such materials to be amended or deleted. A peremptory writ of mandate or an injunction shall be issued only upon clear and convincing proof that the material in question is false, misleading, or inconsistent with the requirements of Chapter 2-6 of Division 9 of the Elections Code and that issuance of the writ or injunction will not substantially interfere with the printing or distribution of official election materials as provided by law.

March 26 (Date fixed by law) Candidates and Committees

First pre-election campaign statement » Ballot measure and recipient committees must file (by personal delivery or first class mail) a pre-election campaign statement covering the report period of January 1, 2020, (or from date of last report) through March 21, 2020, by March 26, 2020.

March 26 to April 14 (-40 to -21) Registrar of Voters

Mail county voter information guide » Between these dates the Registrar of Voters Office shall mail County Voter Information Guides to all voters who registered to vote prior to the 29th day before the election. The location of the polling place and its accessibility to persons with disabilities shall be indicated thereon. Voters who registered to vote after the 29th day before the election may not be mailed a Voter Information Guide but will be mailed a notice of polling place

April 6 (-29) Registrar of Voters

Mailed ballot elections » The Registrar of Voters Office shall mail official ballots to voters beginning this date. NOTE: Hand delivered voted ballots must be received not later than 8:00 PM on Election Day at the Registrar of Voters Office. Any vote by mail ballot shall be timely cast if it is received by the Registrar of Voters Office via the United States Postal Service or a bona fine private mail delivery company no later than three days after election day and either of the following is satisfied: (1) The ballot is postmarked on or before Election Day or is time/date stamped by a bona fide private mail delivery company on or before Election Day. (2) If the ballot has no postmark or the postmark is illegible, the ballot must be signed and dated pursuant to Section 3011 on or before Election Day.

April 20 (-15) Date Fixed by Law

Close of registration » Last day for any qualified elector to register or re-register to vote in the upcoming election. A person, who has moved, changed his or her name or who wishes to change political party affiliation must re-register by this date.

Last day for military or overseas voters to register to vote and request a vote-by-mail ballot and to send it to the county elections official.

April 21 (-10 business days) Registrar of Voters

Process vote by mail ballots » First day the Registrar of Voters Office may begin to process (open, prepare and machine read) Vote by Mail ballots for the upcoming election. No results may be released until after the polls are closed on Election Day.

April 23 (Date fixed by Law) Candidates and Committees

Second pre-election campaign statement » Ballot measure and recipient committees must file (by personal delivery or first class mail) a 2^nd pre-election campaign statement covering the report period of March 22, 2020 through April 18, 2020, by April 23, 2020.

April 25 (-10) Registrar of Voters

Notice of central counting place » The Registrar of Voters Office shall publish, at least 10 days before the election, in a newspaper of general circulation in the jurisdiction, a notice specifying the public place to be used to tally votes when ballots are to be counted in a central counting place.

May 5 (-0) Voters/Registrar of Voters

Election Day » Hand delivered voted ballots must be received not later than 8:00 PM on Election Day at any polling place or at the Registrar of Voters Office. Any vote by mail ballot shall be timely cast if it is received by the Registrar of Voters Office via the United States Postal Service or a bona fine private mail delivery company no later than three days after election day and either of the following is satisfied: (1) The ballot is postmarked on or before Election Day or is time/date stamped by a bona fide private mail delivery company on or before Election Day. (2) If the ballot has no postmark or the postmark is illegible, the ballot must be signed and dated pursuant to Section 3011 on or before Election Day

May 7 (+2) Registrar Of Voters

Office Canvass » Last day the Registrar of Voters Office may begin the Official Canvass of the votes cast. During the Official Canvass of every election in which a voting system is used, the Registrar of Voters Office shall conduct a public manual tally of ballots cast in 1% of the precincts chosen at random by the elections official. In addition to the 1% count, the Registrar of Voters Office shall tally one additional precinct for each contest not included in the initial group of precincts.

May 8 (+3) Voters/Registrar of Voters

Vote-by-mail ballots delivered by mail after election day » Vote-by-mail ballots are considered timely cast if they are received by the elections official by the 3rd day following the election and either the ballot is postmarked on or before Election Day or is time stamped or date stamped by a bona fide private mail delivery company on or before Election Day or, if the ballot has no postmark, a postmark with no date, or an illegible postmark, the vote by mail ballot identification envelope is date stamped by the elections official upon receipt and is signed and dated by the voter on or before Election Day.

June 4 (+30) Registrar of Voters

Completion of canvass » No later than this date, the county elections official must complete the canvass, certify its results, and submit it to the board of supervisors.

top

Back to Election Page