Voters urged to return ballots for May 4 special election
In a statement released April 23, Deva Marie Proto, Sonoma County Clerk-Recorder-Assessor-Registrar of Voters, reminded voters residing in either the town of Windsor or Northern Sonoma County Fire Protection District Special Tax Zone 1 that the deadline to return ballots for the May 4, 2021 special election is rapidly approaching. This election is being conducted entirely by mail and only applies to voters residing in one of the aforementioned jurisdictions.Â
In Windsor, voters are filling a vacant town council seat. There will be five names on the ballot on May 4, when a special election is held for to fill a vacant town council seat.
The vacant seat belonged to Dominic Foppoli, who was elected at-large mayor in the 2020 election, as part of the town’s transition to district elections. Since his seat is an at-large seat and not a district seat until 2022, any qualified local is eligible to run. However, in 2022, the seat will only be open to a qualified member of districts 1, 2 or 4, the three districts that will be up for vote then.
Oscar Chavez, Julia Donoho, Jeffrey Leasure, Rosa Reynoza and Cody Wilson are the five names in contention for the seat.
Voters who have outstanding ballots can return them in one of two ways:
1.           Send them back in the mail, no postage required. Ballots returned by mail must be postmarked on or before May 4 (Election Day) and received at the Registrar of Voters Office by May 7 to be counted.
2.           Deposit them in one of six ballot drop boxes which are open in the county for this election. These six drop boxes will remain open 24/7 until May 4 (Election Day) at 8 p.m. All are in the city of Santa Rosa or near a jurisdiction having an election:
Cloverdale Veterans Memorial Building, 205 West 1stStreet, Cloverdale
 Geyserville Fire Station, 20975 Geyserville Avenue, Geyserville
Healdsburg City Hall, 401 Grove Street, Healdsburg
Santa Rosa Veterans Memorial Building, 1351 Maple Avenue, Santa Rosa
Sonoma County Registrar of Voters Office, 435 Fiscal Drive, Santa Rosa
Bluebird Center, 25 Bluebird Drive, Windsor
(Please note that all other ballot drop boxes installed throughout the county are closed and cannot be used to drop off ballots for this election. They have signs affixed to them directing voters to one of the six open ballot drop boxes.)
If a registered voter in one of the areas having an election never receives their ballot or needs a replacement, through April 27 the voter can contact the Registrar of Voters Office to request a new ballot be mailed to them. After April 27, requests for replacement ballots must be made in person at the Registrar of Voters Office.Â
Any questions about the May 4, 2021, Special Election should be directed to the Registrar of Voters Office by calling 707-565-6800, emailing ro******@so***********.org, or visiting the office in person at 435 Fiscal Drive, Santa Rosa. The office is open for regular business hours (8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays) but has extended hours (7 a.m. to 8 p.m.) on May 4 (Election Day). Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, anyone visiting the office should plan on undergoing a temperature reading, wearing a face mask and practicing social distancing.