A new normal will be applied for voters in Tuesday’s special general election for the 28th Senate District. California is the first state to announce mail-in voting for the election but physical voting will also be available.

Democrat Elizabeth Romero and Republican Melissa Melendez are on the ballot for Jeff Stone’s former spot. He resigned the seat in November to take a position in the department of labor.

On election day there’s usually around 500 polling locations in Riverside County but tomorrow there will be six. Half of the locations are in the Coachella Valley at libraries in Mecca, Thousand Palms and Desert Hot Springs.

Drop off locations: https://www.voteinfo.net/Elections/20200512/docs/docsDropOffLocations.pdf

In person voting opportunities: https://www.voteinfo.net/Elections/20200512/docs/In-PersonVotingOpportunities.pdf

While some democrats are saying it was a safety move, some republicans believe it was political.

“Mail-in voting is the biggest fraud that there is,” Joy Miedecke, president of East Valley Republican Women Federation, said.

“Almost 80-thousand people are dead in this country and you’re going to complain about mailing in a ballot,” Ellie Kurpiewski, political director of Democratic Headquarters of the Desert, said.

Volunteers at the Republican headquarters are making calls to voters to make sure that their vote counts with all of these changes, changes that they’re calling political.

“Slowly but surely they’re taking all this stuff away from us,” Miedecke said. “We want that right, we want to be able to go down and get to the polling place and vote.”

“It’s easier, it’s more convenient, people don’t forget, they have the ballot right in front of them,” Kurpiewski said.

For those who didn’t get a ballot or need help, six polling places *will be open county-wide…

“We are transporting a few people to the voting places that are healthy enough that don’t have transportation but when they’re not healthy enough to go then they’re out of luck, they can’t vote,” Miedecke said.

“With everything that’s going on right now this is the safest thing that the governor can do,” Kurpiewski said. “I think it’s outstanding.”

Some republicans against the idea are threatening to take legal action against the mail-in ballots. President Donald Trump has called them “corrupt.”

States like Utah and Ohio have held elections entirely by mail without reports of fraud. Wisconsin moved forward with in-person voting mid-pandemic, despite the governor’s plea to postpone.

To be counted, voters must send their ballots to the registrar of voters office no later than 8 p.m. on Election Day, or it must be postmarked on election day and received no later than Friday.

Approximately 493,833 vote-by-mail ballots were mailed to voters starting April 13. The May 12 election encompasses only the 28th Senate District and is not a countywide election. If you have any questions about your eligibility to vote, please contact the registrar’s office at (951) 486-7200.

Drop off locations: https://www.voteinfo.net/Elections/20200512/docs/docsDropOffLocations.pdf

In person voting opportunities: https://www.voteinfo.net/Elections/20200512/docs/In-PersonVotingOpportunities.pdf

28th Senate District to be decided by Mail-in Voting