Vote-By-Mail Ballots Coming to Cathedral City

Editor’s Note: With vote-by-mail ballots being mailed out this week in Cathedral City, Uken Report will no longer accept opinion submissions on this particular race.

CATHEDRAL CITY — About 3,900 vote-by-mail ballots will be delivered to voters in City Council District 1 this week for the city’s special vacancy mail-ballot-only election, according to the Riverside County Registrar of Voters.

Ballots will be sent starting today, Monday, July 29 and should arrive in mailboxes by the end of the week. To be counted, completed ballots must be received at the Registrar of Voters office no later than 8 p.m. on Election Day, or be postmarked on or before Election Day and received no later than three days after Election Day.

Because it is solely a mail-ballot election, there will be no established polling places.

Only two names will appear on the ballot: Shelley Kaplan and Rita Lamb. Each is seeking the seat left vacant following the death of Mayor Gregory S. Pettis in January. This term will expire once the November 2020 Election results have been certified by the Registrar of Voters Office and accepted by the City Council.

Vote-by-mail ballots can be returned through the postal service or deposited in vote-by-mail drop-off boxes. A 24-hour drop box is available outside the main entrance of the registrar’s office at 2724 Gateway Drive in Riverside.

Early voting at the Registrar of Voters office begins today, Monday, July 29 and continues Monday through Friday, excluding county holidays, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.  The registrar’s office will be open to voters on Election Day from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

The August 27 special vacancy mail ballot election is not a countywide election, so some areas of the county are not included in the election. If you have any questions about your eligibility to vote, please contact the registrar’s office at (951) 486‐7200.

Aug. 12, 2019, is the last day to register to vote or transfer registration for this special election.  Voter registration cards are available at City Hall.  Voter registration is also available on the Registrar of Voters website by clicking here.