California Secretary of State approves Sonoma County’s transition to new election model

Sonoma County Registrar of Voters Deva Marie Proto announced today that the California Secretary of State’s Office has approved the County of Sonoma’s plan to conduct future elections under the Voter’s Choice Act election model. Sonoma County previously conducted most elections using a traditional polling place model.

Named after the law on which it is based, the objective of the Voter’s Choice Act model is to give voters more flexibility in choosing how, when, and where to cast their ballots. As a Voter’s Choice Act county, Sonoma County will be required to do the following:

• Mail every active, registered voter a ballot for each election in which they are eligible to participate. (Due to the passage of AB 37 last fall, this is now a requirement for all California counties.)
• Offer a combination of official ballot drop boxes and vote centers instead of polling places. Vote centers offer several major advantages over polling places:  

The first elections in Sonoma County to be conducted under the Voter’s Choice Act model will be the April 12 Special Election, which is only applicable to voters residing in the Town of Windsor, followed by the June 7 Statewide Direct Primary Election, applicable to all Sonoma County voters.

In the coming months, the Registrar of Voters Office will be employing a variety of methods, including mailings, emails and public service announcements, to contact voters so they are aware of how the transition to the Voter’s Choice Act election model may affect them. The Registrar of Voters Office will also be holding and participating in community events.

To learn more about Sonoma County’s transition to the Voter’s Choice Act election model, including when and where upcoming events are taking place, please visit sonomacounty.ca.gov/vote.