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It’s Election Day and millions of California voters — including tens of thousands in Sonoma and Napa counties — have cast their votes or are set to return ballots by today for the special election to redraw California’s congressional maps.
Ballot still sitting on the kitchen table? Voters have several ways to weigh in before polls close at 8 p.m.
Proposition 50 proposes temporarily swapping out the state’s independently set congressional districts for a map drawn by the Legislature that would favor Democrats in 2026, offsetting Texas’ bid to enact its own mid-decade redistricting in favor of Republicans.
Nearly 6.7 million ballots had been cast statewide by mail or in person as of Nov. 2, about 29% of all registered voters, according to figures from the California Secretary of State.
Locally, early voting picked up heading into the final days of the election, with elections officials projecting modest turnout.
Some 41% of the 320,000 registered voters in Sonoma County had voted as of Monday morning. About 38% of the 86,300 registered voters in Napa County had returned a ballot as of Monday.
Here’s what voters need to know about what’s on the local ballot, where to vote and when to expect results.
What’s on the ballot?
Prop. 50 would make five congressional districts currently represented by Republicans more likely to elect a Democrat candidate.
Santa Rosa is a key piece of that effort, moving into a district with Chico and Paradise, which is currently represented by Republican Rep. Doug LaMalfa of Richvale.
The reshuffled map, drawn by the Legislature, would be in effect until 2030, when the California Citizens Redistricting Commission would resume oversight of district maps.
In addition to Prop. 50, there are two local matters on some Sonoma County ballots.
Voters in the Petaluma City Schools district are being asked to consider Measure I, a $129-per-year parcel tax to help fund secondary schools.
The parcel tax, which would be in place for eight years, is expected to raise $3 million annually to boost teacher salaries and cushion a budget shortfall. The measure needs two-thirds approval to pass.
In Timber Cove, voters will select three candidates to fill seats on the Timber Cove County Water District board of directors. Four candidates, including two incumbents, are on the ballot.
There are no local issues on the Napa ballot.
Where to vote?
Voters who have yet to return their ballot should avoid dropping them in their mailbox.
Ballots returned by mail must be postmarked by today to be counted, but the U.S. Postal Service has warned ballots mailed on Election Day may not be postmarked until Wednesday, making the ineligible to be counted.
Voters can instead drop off their ballots or vote in person at a vote center. All centers are open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m on Election Day.
Sonoma County voters can visit any of the 14 locations throughout the county.
- Cloverdale: Cloverdale Veterans Memorial Building, 205 W. First St.
- Guerneville: West County Services Center, 16390 Main St.
- Healdsburg: Healdsburg Community Center, 1557 Healdsburg Ave.
- Petaluma: Petaluma City Hall, 11 English St., and Petaluma Community Center, 320 N. McDowell Blvd.
- Rohnert Park: Rohnert Park Community Center, 5401 Snyder Lane, and Rohnert Park Senior Center, 6800 Hunter Dr.
- Santa Rosa: Finley Center, 2060 W. College Ave.; Rincon Valley Regional Library, 6959 Montecito Blvd.; Santa Rosa Veterans Memorial Building, 1351 Maple Ave.; and the Sonoma County Registrar of Voters office, 435 Fiscal Dr.
- Sebastopol: Sebastopol Center for the Arts, 282 S. High Ct.
- Sonoma: Faith Lutheran Church of Sonoma Valley, 19355 Arnold Dr.
- Windsor: Windsor Civic Center, 9291 Old Redwood Hwy. #400.
Three vote centers are open in Napa County.
- American Canyon: American Canyon Holiday Inn Express and Suites, 5001 Main St.
- Napa: Napa County Election Division, 1125 Third St.
- St. Helena: Napa Valley College Upper Valley Campus, 1088 College Ave.
Dozens of ballots drop boxes also are open until 8 p.m. A list of locations can be found on the Sonoma County and Napa County registrar of voters website.
Voters needing to fix their ballot, request a new one or register to vote can go to any voting center for assistance. They also can call local elections offices with questions: Sonoma County Registrar of Voters, 707-565-6800; Napa County Registrar of Voters, 707-253-4321.
When will the first results come in?
Early, initial results will begin to trickle in just after polls close at 8 p.m.
The first results in Napa County will post at 8:01 p.m. and include early ballots processed through the weekend and potentially Monday morning. The tally will be updated again on Nov. 6, Registrar of Voters John Tuteur said.
Evelyn Mendez, Sonoma County’s registrar, said her office plans to release initial results shortly after 8 p.m. and it will include mail ballots processed before Election Day and early in-person votes.
Live election results can be found on the Sonoma County and Napa County registrar of voters results page.
You can reach Staff Writer Paulina Pineda at 707-521-5268 or paulina.pineda@pressdemocrat.com. On X (Twitter) @paulinapineda22.