Measure F seems to have passed with an overwhelming 75 percent of the vote, so the question on many minds within the Arcata Fire Protection District is when it will be able to re-open its third fire station. The answer, unfortunately, is not soon. Arcata Fire Chief Justin McDonald issued a press release this afternoon […]
election
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Newsom’s Pick? Who Might Fill VP-Elect Harris’ Senate Seat?
The victory of Joe Biden and California’s junior senator, Kamala Harris in the 2020 presidential race brings to a close one of the most protracted post-Election Day waiting games in modern political history. It also opens up a relatively rare thing in the Golden State: the prospect of an open Senate seat. For career-minded Democrats, […]
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First Post-Election Report Narrows Fennell’s Lead in Second District
The Humboldt County Elections Office released its first post-election report this afternoon, adding almost 5,000 ballots to the last tallies released Wednesday morning. The new ballots further narrowed incumbent Second District Supervisor Estelle Fennell’s Election Night lead in a close runoff. She now holds a 197-vote advantage over challenger Michelle Bushnell, having taken 51 percent […]
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Roughly 20,000 Local Ballots Left to Count
On top of the 41,189 ballots that have already been processed, Humboldt County Registrar of Voters Kelly Sanders estimates there are roughly 20,000 ballots yet to be counted, which would represent about 71 percent of registered voters. For comparison, 60,983 Humboldt residents, or 74 percent of registered voters, cast ballots in 2016. (Find the latest […]
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What You Need to Know About Election Day
It’s Election Day, do you know where your ballot is? No matter the answer, we’ve got you covered, and you’ve got time. As of yesterday, the Humboldt County Elections Office had already received more than 47,000 vote-by-mail ballots, according to Registrar of Voters Kelly Sanders. Additionally, Sanders said 1,010 precinct ballots have been cast at […]
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Cash Blitz: A Look at Who’s Spending to Influence Your Vote for California’s Legislature
State law caps the amount donors can give to a legislator’s campaign — but these special interests can spend as much as they like mounting their own campaigns to praise or trash candidates. And the money interest groups are pouring into these “independent expenditure committees” has reached dizzying heights. So far more than $31 million […]
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Voter Assistance Centers Open Saturday
All nine of Humboldt County’s Voter Assistance Centers will open this Saturday, Oct. 31, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. The centers will be open to all voters for in-person voting, vote-by-mail ballot drop off, replacement ballots and same-day registration voting beginning Saturday (8 a.m. to 4 p.m.) through Election Day on Tuesday (7 a.m. […]
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Do You Know Where Your Ballot Is?
For the first time, Californians can track their mail-in ballots from the point they’re printed to the moment they’re accepted by their county elections office. Ballot tracking, now available in parts or all of a dozen states, has become a particularly useful option this year, when many voters are anxious about election security. As of […]
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Replacing Cash Bail: Fairer Justice or Robopocalypse?
California is either about to right decades of inequality between rich and poor defendants by eliminating cash bail, or it’s about to turn over its justice system to robots. The question of what to do about the system that decides whether people should be free while awaiting trial will be determined by Proposition 25. The […]
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Watch The Second District Supes Candidate Forum
The two candidates squaring off in a runoff to represent Humboldt County’s Second District on the Board of Supervisors — two-term incumbent Estelle Fennell and challenger Michelle Bushnell — participated in virtual forum hosted by the League of Women Voters on Friday. The forum, which saw each candidate answer questions on homelessness, climate change and mental […]
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Good Policy or Ballot Blackmail? Union Keeps Taking Fight with Health Industry to Voters
For the second time in as many elections, California voters are caught in the middle of a fight between private dialysis companies and a union with a history of taking its battles to the ballot. The question: Is the union effectively using its power to boost health care and its membership, or is it resorting […]