County clerk urges voters to get their ballots in early if possible

Those received by thursday to be tallied by election day

Danielle Sexton, Inyo County clerk and registrar of voters, would like to encourage voters to participate in the November statewide General Election and to get their ballots in early.

Sexton stated that mailed ballots received in the county’s Elections Office office by Thursday, Nov. 3, will be included in the first election results report, which will be posted on the county’s Elections Office website after 8 p.m. on Election Night. Vote-by-mail ballots received after Thursday will be tallied and reported after Election Day.

She stated that final election results for Inyo County ballots will be certified on Nov. 23.

Sexton advised that if voters are voting in person on Election Day, Nov. 8, they need to bring their mailed ballots with them to their polling places to surrender for an in-person ballot.

For more information, go to www.elections.inyocounty.us or call (760) 878-0220.

Voting, so far

Sexton reported on Monday that her office as of Friday had received about 2,000 mailed ballots, “which is low for being a week till Election Day.”

“We are hoping we receive a lot more early this week,” she said.

Inyo County voters will be helping to elect the next governor of California and a Congressional representative. Locally, they will also be deciding the fate of two county supervisor seats, county sheriff and numerous positions on local school boards, as well as determining whether the county should collect Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) from campgrounds and RV parks via ballot question Measure Q.

Measure Q asks: “Shall the Transient Occupancy Tax Equal Share Act Ordinance, which will authorize ongoing collection of a Transient Occupancy Tax on all short-term rental activities within the unincorporated area of the County at the same rate of twelve percent of the rent charged by the operator as currently collected by hotels, estimated to raise an additional $135,000 annually, be adopted?”

Currently, the TOT is only applied to hotels, motels, lodges, and shortterm vacation rentals such as those booked through Airbnb or Vrbo. If passed by voters, Measure Q will allow the county to extend the collection of TOT to all short-term lodging facilities, including campgrounds and RV parks.

The last day to register to vote for this election was Oct. 24. Sexton reported the total number of registered voters in Inyo County is 10,737.

According to the Elections Office, the following is the breakdown as far as party affiliation:

• Democratic – 3,668

• Republican – 4,185

• American Independent – 489

• Green Party – 25

• Libertarian – 154

• Peace and Freedom – 47

• No Party Preference – 1,975

• Other – 91

• Unknown – 83

• Independent – 20