Primary Election ballots to arrive in Placer County mailboxes this week

Ballots in the June 7 Statewide Direct Primary Election are due to hit mailboxes in Placer County this week, with the first official day to turn in ballots on Tuesday. While the ballot has several state and federal seat primaries, it also has several Placer County races, which could ultimately be decided on this ballot. Of the Placer County positions, voters will decide between two candidates (or a write-in) for assessor, clerk-recorder-registrar and Sheriff-Coroner-Marshal. If one candidate earns 50-percent plus one vote, a simple majority, they will be elected and serve when their terms start in 2023. Placer County Supervising Appraiser Sam Sherrod challenges appointed incumbent Matt Maynard in the race for assessor. Amanda Cofran, IT Business Analyst, challenges current Placer County Clerk-Recorder-Registrar of Voters Ryan Ronco. Appointed Placer County Undersheriff Wayne Woo faces off against Administrative Sergeant Brandon Bean in the race to become Placer County's next Sheriff-Coroner-Marshal. Running for Placer County Supervisor, District 2, are Scott Alvord, Paul Joiner and Shanti Landon. There are also several county offices which are not contested (except for write-in candidates) but appear on the June ballot, including Superintendent of Schools (Gayle Garbolino-Mojica), Auditor-Controller (Andrew Sisk), District Attorney (Morgan Gire) and Treasurer-Tax Collector (Tristan Butcher). If they receive 50 percent plus one vote, they will begin their next terms in 2023. In the primary categories, voters will vote for one candidate and the top two candidates (regardless of party affiliation) will face off in the November General Election. Ronco said Because of redistricting, Ronco said, voters might see their polling places have changed. While all registered voters will receive a mail-in ballot, Placer County still offers polling places to vote in person on Election Day. Ronco said each voter's polling location will be printed on their sample ballot, which have been sent to voters over the past few days. Placer County has 146 polling places. Ronco said 95 percent of voters chose to use mail-in ballots, while five percent still chose to vote in person. "We always anticipate people deciding to go back to the polling place," he said. "We know there are a lot of people who like to vote in person and like that feeling of civic pride." Primaries have historically a low voter turnout, Ronco said. However, Placer County voter turnout is usually 10 to 15 percent higher than the state average. For primaries, 60 percent of registered voters in the county usually turn in ballots. Integrity in the election process is important, Ronco said. He said any citizen can request to see ballots being counted, audits being performed and the ballot return process in person. The public can request to do this as much as they want, he said. "We want to make sure we are meeting voters' expectations," he said. "If they have questions, we are ready to answer them." For more information, visit placercountyelections.gov.