Those living in the City of Portola will receive two ballots for the March 5 presidential election. One will be for Plumas County Measure A only.
A snafu on the ballots mailed to voters Feb. 5 failed to include Measure A on those sent to residents of Portola, Plumas County’s only incorporated city.
Plumas County Clerk/Recorder Marcy DeMartile discovered the error late on Tuesday, Feb. 20. The measure to raise approximately $2.4 million annually for law enforcement and public safety was intended for voters countywide, including Portola, she said.
“I’m assuming responsibility. Not including Measure A on the ballots mailed to Portola voters is my error,” she told The Plumas Sun.
All registered voters within the Portola city limits will get a supplemental ballot scheduled to be mailed to them Feb. 23. These supplemental ballots will include Measure A only.
Voters who already filled in and mailed their ballots for the 2024 presidential primary will simply vote on the Measure A supplemental ballot and mail it. “Your original ballot will be counted in its entirety,” DeMartile said.
Voters who have not voted will fill in two ballots: the 2024 presidential primary ballot and the supplemental Measure A ballot.
The originally issued ballot as well as the supplemental ballot for this election must be postmarked by March 5, said DeMartile. “There’s still plenty of time to vote,” she said.
In a press release issued Feb. 22, DeMartile apologized for the inconvenience to Portola voters, adding, “Please do not hesitate to contact me at [email protected] for additional information.”
Jon Kennedy, Portola’s interim city manager, is working to get word of the supplemental ballot out to city residents. The county clerk is handling the mistake “in the best way possible,” he said.
The resolution placing Measure A on the Plumas County ballot was adopted by the Plumas County Board of Supervisors on Sept. 29, 2023. It calls for adopting a sales tax to provide a revenue stream for the Plumas County Sheriff’s Office. If approved by two-thirds of the voters, it would increase the countywide sales tax by three-fourths of 1%, raising the current 7.25% sales tax to 8%.
