71 percent of Plumas ballots have been received, but so have threats
Last Friday Plumas County Clerk Kathy Williams predicted that by Monday, Nov. 2, at least 70 percent of the ballots would have been received in her office and she was right — 71 percent have been received thus far today.
During an interview Nov. 2, Williams said she is anticipating even more by the end of the day since there has been a steady stream of voters dropping their ballots in the box outside of the county courthouse, as well as coming into the first floor elections office.
But in addition to the ballots, has come a number of threats. “This is a first for us to experience this level of threats,” Williams said. “For us to be threatened, it’s almost unbelievable.”
One of the complaints involved the lack of polling locations, but Williams explained that Plumas County has been using all mail ballots for the past several elections. When the county made that move, 70 percent of registered voters already did so by mail, and of the remaining 30 percent, only 10 percent voted by going to their local polling location.
Williams has been working with Travis Goings, the head of the Sheriff’s Office security detail at the courthouse, to make sure there is security in place throughout the day and while the ballots are being counted tomorrow evening. She said that the Secretary of State’s office has contacted county election offices and advised them to be on alert and call for additional help if necessary.
As for the ballots that have been received, the clerk’s office is counting them as they come in and hopes to provide results quickly on election night. While the attention is on the top of the ticket there are a few local races to be determined including two supervisorial districts and a school board member.
Williams reminds voters that on Election Day, Tuesday Nov. 3, some offices in the courthouse will be working from home to lessen the number of people passing through the building. You are asked to call any office that you need to visit to determine if they are available for certain services. The Election Department will be open from 7 a.m. through 8 p.m.
