Sierra Valley Ballot Drop Box Moves to Sierraville

SIERRA COUNTY — Sierra County is moving its eastern ballot drop box from Loyalton City Hall Auditorium to Sierraville School for the November 3 election, adding weekday access in the weeks before Election Day.

The box opens October 5 at 305 South Lincoln Street, according to Sierra County’s September 25 announcement. Loyalton’s previous drop-off site operated only on Election Day.

The change follows Senate Bill 884, which Governor Gavin Newsom signed September 19. The law requires all vote-by-mail ballot drop-off locations to open at least during regular business hours beginning at least 30 days before an election and continuing through Election Day. It took effect immediately, leaving county election officials to arrange the longer service period before ballots go out.

For Sierra County, choosing a location came down to having people available to handle the box every day, Assistant Clerk-Recorder Melissa Kinneer says.

The county owns Sierraville School and has employees working there. Those employees will be sworn in as elections officers to bring the box outside, secure it to the building, and bring it inside and lock it at the end of the day, Kinneer said.

Keeping the box at Loyalton City Hall would have required arranging that daily work there. Kinneer said the county chose to use its own employees at the school rather than put the responsibility on the city. The elections office is also able to utilize existing surveillance at the Sierraville site.

Kinneer described the longer drop-off period as a benefit to voters. The new site will operate during business hours, with the box secured inside overnight and on weekends and holidays.

SB 884, also called the Protect Our Polls Act, pairs earlier ballot access with protections against voter intimidation. In the law’s findings, legislators cited public discussion of deploying law enforcement near polling places and changes in Postal Service postmark practices that could put timely mailed ballots at risk of rejection.

Senator Tom Umberg, a Santa Ana Democrat who authored the measure, explained in an April committee analysis that opening drop boxes earlier would give voters more options to avoid polling places amid concerns about federal interference.

In his September 19 signing announcement, Newsom described the election-law package as a safeguard against interference by President Donald Trump’s administration and others.

The act restricts arrests within 200 feet of polling places while they are open on Election Day, with exceptions for crimes disrupting polling operations or crimes against people or property. It also lets county supervisors expand the area where campaigning is prohibited around voting locations from 100 feet to as much as 200 feet.

The law’s election provisions begin with this November’s general election and cover elections held through 2029 or proclaimed in 2029. They are scheduled for repeal January 1, 2031, unless further action is taken by the legislature.

For this election, the Sierraville box will be available Monday through Friday, 9 AM to 4 PM, excluding holidays, from October 5 through November 2. On Election Day, it will be open between the hours of 9 AM and 7 PM.

Sierra County is conducting an all-mail election and will mail ballots by October 5. Voters can return them by mail or take them to the county elections office or drop box at 100 Courthouse Square in Downieville. The courthouse schedule is Monday through Friday, 9 AM to 4 PM; Saturday, October 31, 9 AM to 4 PM; and Election Day, 7 AM to 8 PM.

The county elections office can answer questions about ballot return and accessible voting at 530-289-3295.