Election Day is time where all are heard

Voters have until 8 p.m. Tuesday to cast their ballots on the March 5 election, California's “Super Tuesday” in the 2024 race for the White House.

While that race appears to be headed for a rematch of the 2020 election in which Joe Biden defeated incumbent Donald Trump, there are many issues sharing that ballot that voters are being asked to decide.

The races range from California's U.S. senator to two seats on the Marin County Board of Supervisors. Rep. Jared Huffman and Assemblyman Damon Connolly have both drawn opponents in their bids for reelection. In Larkspur and Ross, voters are asked to elect council members. Local voters are also voting on a San Anselmo initiative to remove the town from the Ross Valley flood control project, rent control in Larkspur and a proposal for new capital bonds for improvements and modernization of the Tamalpais Union High School District's campuses.

How many of Marin's estimated 170,000 voters will actually take the time to cast their ballots?

California's political prognosticators are expecting a low turnout statewide. That's because the flow of ballots received so far has been light compared to recent elections.

The top of the ticket — the two leading nominees for president — appears to be decided, but Republicans who are not fans of Trump can express their objections by voting for former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley.

From a voters' standpoint, casting their ballots is easier with the move toward mail-in voting and the opening of local drop-box centers for completed ballots.

The county Elections Office has established 21 drop-box centers, in almost every town, from Bolinas to Belvedere.

There are also 19 vote centers spread out across the county, most of which have been open for voting since

Feb. 24. On Election Day, these staffed centers will open at 7 a.m. and stay open until 8 p.m.

Voters with questions can check the office's website at bit.ly/3wyUIEJ or find help over the phone at 415-4736456. Over the past month, this page has played host to numerous letters to the editor, Marin columns and, in this corner, our editorials detailing the IJ editorial board's recommendations in local contests.

As we would in many issues facing our county, we have offered our recommendations on people who want to be elected decisionmakers. Our endorsements are offered as food for thought, maybe part of a voters' path toward making up their own mind.

Anyone reading this page — its letters and columns — could easily conclude that not everyone agrees with our decisions. We have happily provided a forum for differences of opinion.

Now voters face the deadline to cast their ballots. It is their democratic role, their right, privilege and duty.

It's the voters' chance to be heard, to hold their elected representatives accountable and, in some cases, make changes that those representatives wouldn't do on their own.

Marin has a reputation for having one of the highest turnouts in the state. We take our civic rights seriously. These days, changes that have made voting a lot easier undercuts most excuses for not voting. Every vote sets an example for others to follow.

Also, in recent years, we've had a few local elections where every vote made a difference.

For those waiting until Election Day to cast their ballots, this is not a lengthy ballot.

Candidates and supporters and opponents of state and local measures have campaigned for your vote. Now you get to make up your own mind — and vote.

Across our nation's history, our right to vote has not been guaranteed. For decades, women did not have a vote. In some states, restrictions and requirements were instituted aimed at minimizing Black voters. The best guarantee to preserve your right to vote is to exercise it by promoting our democracy.