Marin elections office seeks comments on voting plan
The Marin County Elections Department will hold a online public meeting this month to gather comments on revisions to its election administration plan.
The revisions are part of the county’s plan to implement the Voter’s Choice Act. The law allows elections departments to use the vote-by-mail system; opens an early voting period before Election Day; and replaces neighborhood polling places with regional voting centers.
The draft plan includes information on voting options, services, technology, security, outreach and education. It also includes information about the process of selecting ballot drop boxes and voting center locations.
“Hopefully people will take time to look through the plan. I know it’s pretty detailed and pretty extensive,” Marin County Registrar of Voters Lynda Roberts said.
Revisions in the draft plan are minor and mostly involved changing language to be more clear, current and simple, Roberts said.
Public comments on the revisions are an opportunity for the community to suggest ideas that might have not been considered. In past sessions, people asked questions about topics that were already covered in the draft, Roberts said.
“It confirmed that our initial plan was comprehensive,” she said. “This time, we tweaked it to reflect our experiences with the past elections in 2022.”
She said most comments from previous public forums were about community engagement and education. Going out into communities and meeting with people, rather than hosting workshops, was more effective.
“We learned a lot through the first year of doing our voter education,” Roberts said. “But the plan is pretty much the same as it was initially, we just refined it.”
Pat Johnstone, president of the Marin Democratic Party, said she has not read the most recent plan yet, but has worked closely on the Voter’s Choice Act and its implementation in Marin.
She said as long as there are no major changes in the plan, she and the party are in favor of it. To her, an essential part of the plan is education on things some voters might take for granted, such as how to fill out a ballot or when to mail it out.
“It’s really about meeting people where they are and getting the information out there,” she said. “Really it’s an education piece, we shouldn’t take that for granted. Voting by mail should be the easiest thing in the world.”
Johnstone said that considering the issues with voters’ rights happening at both the national and state levels, she hopes the plan will pass in order to make voting more accessible.
“I’m hoping that people respond positively and it passes smoothly,” Johnstone said. “This is a strong step in the right direction in making it easier for people to vote.”
The draft plan is online at shorturl.at/vJX15. Written comments can be submitted by email to elections@marincounty.org or mailed to the Registrar of Voters at P.O. Box E, San Rafael, 94913.
The public meeting is set for noon July 20. Meeting information will be posted on the department’s website at bit.ly/44shqtE.