Mail-in ballots are already pouring inside the Palm Springs City Hall, election day is two weeks away but many voters have made up their mind and made their votes heard.
Jack Pray is a Palm Springs resident and he works in real-estate, he had a measure in mind while going through the ballot.
“I think it is very important, particularly Measure-C it is the main thing I am looking at,” Pray said. “We made our decision last week and I’ve been carrying this in the car now for a week so I decided to come over to city hall to drop them off.”
Measure-C will either keep or outlaw short-term home rentals in Palm Springs causing polarization within the community.
The Palm Springs City Clerk, Anthony Mejia said not everyone has made up their minds yet, like pray has.
Mejia said, “People are calling me every single day with questions about why it’s on the ballot, questions related to what a yes vote or a no vote means.”
He includes himself in the mix of voters who are holding off to get more familiar with those in the race.
Mejia said, “I decided there are so many candidates on the ballot, that I wanted to hold off and submit my ballot a little bit later.”
But many voters in the county have made their decisions. The Riverside County Registrar of Voters has received almost 50,000 ballots to date.
While in Palm Springs, Mejia said, “In the last few weeks we have gotten 135 ballots that were submitted in our vote by mail drop-off location, but that does not count this week.”
He said this week’s turnout is likely to double and keep-on increasing as Election Day inches closer.
Isaac Herrera is voting early before he leaves for military duty, Measure-C is not his main concern, but the direction of the state in general.
Herrera said, “A lot of the issues now with immigration, homelessness is starting to affect all of us and it is important for all of us to not only vote to be informed.”
While Pray said vote early or on Election Day, your vote will still matter, he said, “All votes are important, if you don’t vote, don’t complain.”
Election Day is June 5; find your polling place here.
