Healdsburg Voter Guide: March 2024 Voting Centers, Issues

HEALDSBURG, CA — Monday is the final day of early voting for the 2024 presidential primary election in California. Locally, Sonoma County Measure H will be closely watched.

Healdsburg, Sonoma County Vote Centers

In Sonoma County, there are a total of 31 vote centers, including the Healdsburg Community Center, 1557 Healdsburg Ave. All are open Monday for early voting from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

On Election Day, all vote centers are open 7 a.m. - 8 p.m. See the full list here.

Vote Centers — previously called polling places — offer many services and greater flexibility because you can visit any vote center in Sonoma County. At a vote center, you can drop off your ballot; request a replacement ballot; or vote in person. Residents may also register to vote and cast a ballot on the same day. The new system indicates in real time whether someone has voted, meaning voters no longer need to surrender their vote-by-mail ballot to vote at a vote center.

Official Drop Boxes

There are 21 official ballot drop boxes in Sonoma County, including at Healdsburg City Hall, 401 Grove St. Drop boxes are open 24/7 through 8 p.m. on Election Day.

Here's the full list.

Note: The drive-thru Official Ballot Drop Box located in front of the Sonoma County Registrar of Voters Office at 435 Fiscal Dr. is no longer available. However, you can still drop your ballot off inside the office during business hours. In addition, there is a new Official Ballot Drop Box located just a couple blocks away at the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors at 575 Administration Dr.

March 2024 Primary

With presidential frontrunners former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden expected to win their nominations handily, all eyes in California are on the hotly contested primary race for the seat vacated by the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein as well as a slew of local races.

In Healdsburg, voters will decide on 18 candidate races and one ballot measure.

Local Ballot Questions, Races

• California Prop 1: Authorizes $6.5 billion in bonds to build mental health and substance abuse treatment facilities and homeless housing.
• Sonoma County Measure H: To improve and enhance local fire prevention, protection, emergency paramedic services and disaster response throughout Sonoma County by: improving vegetation management to prevent wildfire spread; attracting and retaining qualified, local firefighters; improving response times; and updating firefighting facilities and equipment, shall Sonoma County establish a ½ cent sales tax until ended by voters, providing approximately $60 million annually, with annual audits and citizen oversight, and increase its annual appropriations limit to allow expenditure of the proceeds?

U.S. House District 2:

• Jared Huffman
• Jason Brisendine
• Chris Coulombe
• Tief Gibbs
• Jolian Kangas

California State Assembly District 2:

• Cynthia Click (D)
• Michael Greer (R)
• Rusty Hicks (D)
• Ariel Kelly (D)
• Frankie Meyers (D)
• Chris Rogers (D)
• Ted Williams (D)

Sonoma County Board Of Supervisors

• District 1 candidates: Rebecca Hermosillo, Jonathan Mathieu
• District 3 candidates: Chris Coursey, Omar Medina
• District 5 candidate: Lynda Hopkins

Presidential Primary

With the presidential preference primary happening Tuesday, Golden State residents already have their mail-in ballots in hand.

The primary will decide which candidate gets California's 169 delegates — the largest haul of any state — to the Republican and Democratic national conventions, to be held in July and August, respectively.

There were notable changes to California's primary this year. It moved up from June to Super Tuesday in March with 13 other states.

In California, the political parties determine whether they will have open or closed presidential parties, meaning only the party's registered voters can pick the winning candidates. The Green Party, the Peace and Freedom Party, and the Republican Party are all holding closed primaries in California

Furthermore, the state's GOP changed the rules to winner-takes-all, so that any candidate who gets a majority wins all of the delegates. Previously, the delegates were divided up based on the number of congressional districts each Republican won. The change, pushed by the Donald Trump campaign, raises the stakes in California's primary and favors the frontrunner in the Republican primary, which also happens to be Trump.

The American Independent Party, the Democratic Party, and the Libertarian Party hold a modified-closed primary, which means they allow No Party Preference voters to vote in their primaries.

Click here to check your voter and party registration status.

Statewide Primary Elections

All 52 of California's congressional districts will have primary races March 5 along with one U.S. Senate race. With frontrunners Trump and Biden expected to sail to victory in California's presidential primary, the real suspense centers on the Golden State's senate race.

For the senate race, California has an open primary, which means only the top two vote-getters in the primary election, regardless of party affiliation, move on to the general election.

All election season, polls have shown Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank) in the lead with former Los Angeles Dodger Steve Garvey (R), Rep. Katie Porter (D-Irvine ), and Rep. Barbara Lee (Oakland) vying for second place to make it into the general election.

How To Vote On Election Day

Mail in ballot: Voters can mail in the ballots they received in the mail by signing them, sealing them and placing them in either a mailbox or an approved drop box. The official drop box in Healdsburg is at Healdsburg City Hall, 401 Grove St. To find more drop box locations in Sonoma County, visit the county website.

All ballots must be postmarked — or turned in at a vote center — by 8 p.m. Tuesday, March 5. Ballots mailed back by voters must be received in the mail by election officials by March 12.

Mail-in voters in California have a way to track their ballots to make sure their votes are counted. The California Secretary of State offers Where’s My Ballot? for voters to track and receive notifications on the status of their vote-by-mail ballot.

Traditional in-person voting: There are 31 vote centers in Sonoma County, including the Healdsburg Community Center; see the list here. All are open 7 a.m. - 8 p.m. on Election Day.

On election night or the next morning, go online to your local Patch site for up-to-date election results.

2024 Election: Endorsements And Voter Guides

• CalMatters
• East Bay Times
• Los Angeles Times
• The Orange-County Register
• The San Diego-Union Tribune
• Sacramento Bee
• San Francisco Chronicle
• California Secretary of State Voter Guide
• California Democratic Party Endorsements
• California Republican Party Endorsements