Plumas Registrar Pledges November Ballots Despite Mail-Voting Uncertainty

QUINCY – Plumas County Registrar of Voters Marcy DeMartile addressed reports that the US Postal Service might not deliver ballots for the November election in remarks at the beginning of the September 1 meeting of the county’s Board of Supervisors. Referring to possible results of an Executive Order by President Trump aimed at restricting voting by mail, she said, “Is it going to happen? We don’t know.” She said the status of mail-in voting in November is uncertain because of legal challenges, but that she is working with state and local authorities to develop contingency plans for a variety of possible situations.

Despite the uncertainty, DeMartile said that she wants “to notify the voters in Plumas County that no matter what happens, you will receive your ballot, you will have an opportunity to vote your ballot, and you will have the ability to return your ballot,” whether by mail or some other means. “Just rest assured that the voters of Plumas County will be taken care of, over my dead body,” she said.

In other action, the Board of Supervisors approved, following a public hearing, an amendment to the County Code that will require new cellular telephone towers on land zoned for timber production to meet county-wide standards for the design and placement of telecommunications facilities. Towers in timber production zones were previously exempt from those standards, even if they were located adjacent to land zoned for residential use. Board members and county Planning Director Tracey Ferguson acknowledged that the exemption was a “loophole” with “unintended consequences” that had allowed tower construction to become contentious. With adoption of the amendment, new towers on timber production land will require a special use permit, notification of nearby property owners, and a public hearing.