Yolo County voters are turning out

Congratulations Yolo County voters, you’re doing your jobs. You’re fired up and expressing your opinions.

Keep it up. With the general election only three weeks away, county voters are turning in a record number of ballots, according to the county’s Elections Office.

According to the county, a record number of 8,341 voteby-mail ballots from Ballot Drop Boxes between Oct. 5 and Wednesday, which dwarfs previous vote-by-mail ballots in prior elections.

The surging mail ballot response reflects both a state and nationwide trend. In California, over a million ballots have been turned in so far according to a tweet from Secretary of State Alex Padilla, marking the most ballots collected by mail at this point in any state election. At this time in 2016, that number was around 72,000.

California is experiencing a substantial increase in new registration. Since this time in 2016, the state has added just under 3 million new voters, with state voter registration is at its highest level since 1952 — more than 84% of eligible voters, or 21 million Californians, are registered.

Nationwide, voters have cast over 17 million ballots, according to data complied by the U.S. Elections Project.

As of Sept. 3, Yolo County was also reporting 115,340 registered voters, a 5.7% increase in voter registration since the 2018 general election, where data from the Secretary of State shows that there were 109,103 Yolo County registered voters in September of that year.

For Democrats, this is good news. The county has reported there are 58,900 registered Democrats, 22,969 registered Republicans, 3,296 registered American Independent and 565 people registered with the Green Party.

But that’s also reflective of the nation as a whole.

People were able to start voting by Oct. 5, which is why The Democrat worked to get its editorial endorsements out early. Waiting until the last few weeks of October made no sense because we thought so many people would be voting

The surging number of Yolo County voters reflects California and nationwide interest in this election.

early. So, we’re proud of Yolo County voters for getting energized and casting their ballots.

Nonetheless, for those few who haven’t yet made up their minds, here is a synopsis of where The Democrat stands on local measures, just in case you decide to cast your ballot in person on Nov. 3.

Woodland City Council District 2: Tom Stallard

District 4: Magda Padilla

District 5: Mayra Vega

Woodland School Board District 3: Trista Kennedy District 5: Kandice Fowler

Woodland Tax and Bond Measures

Woodland School District Measure Y: Yes. The measure will direct money toward expanding vocational education facilities for programs including automotive engineering and construction trades; improve classroom technology and internet access; repair classrooms and schools; and replace roofs, HVAC, wiring and plumbing be adopted. It authorizes $44.205 million of bonds, by extending current levies (averaging less than $24 per $100,000 a year of assessed valuation while bonds are outstanding), raising on average $3.23 million per year, with legal interest rates, annual audits and independent oversight.

City of Woodland Measure R: Yes. Measure R lets the city continue to collect, for ten years, a one-quarter cent sales tax for general city services, providing approximately $2.8 million annually and would not increase taxes, because it’s a continuation of a previous quarter-cent sales tax. Voters also get to “advise” the council on how it should spend the money. Specifically, the advisory measure include: MEASURE S — Which allocates 25% to the Woodland Public Library to enhance educational and literacy programs and maintain or expand hours of operation; MEASURE T — Which allocates 55% to expand and enhance youth and teen programs and facilities, and reduce of fees charged for use of city recreation facilities; MEASURE U — Which allocates 15% to enhance public safety through expanded crime prevention and community-building programs that support opportunities for youth within the community; and MEASURE V — Which allocates up to 5% of the tax revenue to support a utility ratepayer assistance program for low-income seniors and families.