Early voting for June primary starts Monday in San Bernardino County
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Early voting for the June 7 primary election starts Monday in San Bernardino County, less than a month before new voting districts take effect.
Officials with the Registrar of Voters said the agency would begin delivering mail ballots on the same day for each of the 1.15 million active registered voters.
The Registrar’s office at 777 East Rialto Avenue in San Bernardino will be open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday up to Election Day to accept early ballots.
Five additional early voting sites will open May 31 and operate though June 6. High Desert locations include:
Town of Apple Valley Conference Center, 14975 Dale Evans Parkway, Apple Valley
Victorville City Hall, 14343 Civic Drive, Victorville
Joshua Tree Community Center, 6171 Sunburst Street, Joshua Tree
The times at each location are available on the Registrar’s website at sbcountyelections.com.
Starting May 10, voters will be able to drop off their mail ballots at one of 76 boxes throughout the county up until Election Day. A locator tool for those sites is also available on the Registrar’s website.
Residents who are not registered to vote have until May 23 to sign up to receive a mail ballot.
“After May 23, new voters must conditionally register to vote in person at the Registrar of Voters office, an early vote site, or a polling place,” the Registrar said.
Voter information guides were mailed earlier this week on Tuesday with sample ballots, candidate statements and other information.
On Election Day, more than 300 polling places will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Congressional races
June’s ballot will feature two contests for U.S. Senate and voters can vote for both.
After former Senator Kamala Harris was elected Vice President, California’s Secretary of State Alex Padilla was appointed to replace her in January last year.
Padilla is running in both contests: One, to stay in his current position until Jan. 3, 2023, and second, for a full 6-year term after that. He faces 22 challengers vying for the seat.
After the 2020 Census, voting districts were redrawn, or redistricted, with the final maps approved in December. In the June primary, these new districts take effect.
California’s 8th congressional district — represented by Jay Obernolte — currently covers most of the land in San Bernardino County plus Inyo and Mono Counties.
In less than a month, most of San Bernardino County will be covered under the new 23rd Congressional District.
Obernolte is running for re-election against two Democrats: Derek Marshall, a community organizer, and Blanca Gomez, a Victorville councilwoman.
New assembly districts
In the state assembly, the 33rd District — represented by Thurston Smith — encompasses the major cities in the High Desert: Hesperia, Adelanto, Apple Valley, Victorville and Barstow along with most of San Bernardino County.
In June, Adelanto and most of Victorville and Hesperia will be covered by the 39th District which will also include Palmdale and Lancaster. That race has four candidates, including local Paul Marsh, a former Victorville planning commissioner.
Apple Valley, Barstow and eastern parts of Victorville and Hesperia will be represented by Assembly District 34, a wide-reaching area covering most of San Bernardino County along with California City and parts of Lancaster and Palmdale.
Smith will be running in that race, squaring off against Republican Assemblyman Tom Lackey who currently represents the 36th District and other candidates, including former Victorville councilwoman Rita Ramirez.
Assembly District 41 — which currently covers parts of Los Angeles and San Bernardino Counties — will soon take in Phelan, Oak Hills and Wrightwood in June. The district is represented by Democrat Chris Holden who is running unopposed.
Statewide races feature several challengers for governor, AG
Less than a year after deciding whether to keep Gov. Gavin Newsom in office — which voters did by a roughly 24-point margin — in the state’s recall election last fall, voters will again decide who they want to be the next leader of California.
Newsom is seeking a second term as governor with few major challengers within the Democratic Party, and none of the major challengers from last year’s recall, such as Republican radio talk-show host Larry Elder, are running against Newsom this time.
In April, the California Republican Party endorsed state Sen. Brian Dahle, from Lassen County, in the race.
Michael Shellenberger, a Democrat turned independent from the Bay Area, is also among the most prominent candidates seeking to replace Newsom as governor.
A much-discussed issue in this year’s races – crime – could factor into the state’s Attorney General race. Democrat Rob Bonta, who was appointed to the attorney general position in March 2021, will be seeking election to his first full term in office.
Former assistant U.S. attorney general Nathan Hochman has won the endorsement of the Republican Party in the race, over fellow GOP candidate and attorney Eric Early.
Both Hochman and Early are competing against Sacramento County District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert, a former Republican now running as an independent, to be the top challenger against Bonta in November. Schubert has won the support of several law enforcement groups in the state.
Key dates
All California registered voters will receive a vote-by-mail ballot, but will still have a variety of ways to submit their ballot.
Voters should return their vote-by-mail ballot by mail with prepaid postage as long as it's postmarked on or before Election day and received by June 14. Voters can also drop off their ballot in-person to a secure ballot dropbox, a voting location, or their county elections office by 8 p.m. on June 7.
The last day to register to vote for the Primary Election is May 23.
However, in-person voting locations will offer voter registration, replacement ballots, accessible voting machines, and language assistance to those who need it.
Official election results, certified by the Secretary of State's office, will be posted on the website by July 15. The last day for the Secretary of State to release the official supplement to the statement of the vote is Nov. 12.
Daily Press reporter Martin Estacio may be reached at 760-955-5358 or MEstacio@VVDailyPress.com. Follow him on Twitter @DP_mestacio.
This article originally appeared on Victorville Daily Press: Early voting for June primary starts Monday in San Bernardino County
