Plumas supervisors weigh in on local vote
By Debra Moore
The ballots are out in Plumas County — all 13,443 of them. That’s the number shared by the county’s Clerk-Recorder Kathy Williams during an update to the Board of Supervisors on Oct. 6.
Of those ballots, the breakdown is: 6,000 Republican; 3,870 Democratic; and 2,592 No Party Preference; with the remainder broken down among the smaller parties.
Supervisor Jeff Engel asked if residents could still vote in person at the courthouse. “They want to make sure their votes are counted,” he said.
Williams told Engel that residents can bring their ballots to the county courthouse and deposit them outside in the ballot box or return them inside in the first floor office as an alternative to mailing them. She reminded the supervisors that the county has been all-mail since the 2016 election, and by that time 70 percent of all registered voters were already voting by mail. Of the remaining 30 percent, only 10 percent showed up at the polls.
Williams said residents should mail in their ballots as soon as possible and make sure that the envelope is signed. If it’s not, then the elections office has to send out a form to verify the signature, which adds time to the process.
Picking up on Engel’s comment, Supervisor Lori Simpson passionately defended the process in Plumas County. “Every vote is accounted for,” she said, adding, “Tell them to turn the TV off,” in a reference to some politicians and on-air news personalities questioning the validity of mail ballots.
Simpson also defended the election’s office and praised its workers.
Ballots must be postmarked by Nov. 3, but Williams is encouraging voters not to wait. Only the ballots that have been received by Election Day, can be counted on that day. The others will be counted later, delaying the full election results. If any Plumas County resident hasn’t received their ballot by Oct. 13, they should call 283-6256.
One Plumas News reader wanted to emphasize the mail early suggestion. She said that a letter sent to her from Portola on Sept. 28 didn’t arrive in Quincy until Oct. 6.
