Busy Bay Area Voting But Some Confusion in Sonoma County

Voting in the Bay Area has run smoothly for the most part on Election Day, despite reports of some long lines and minor disruptions.

“Just busy everywhere,” said Scott Konopasek, assistant registrar of voters in Contra Costa County. “It’s a busy day for all.”

Some election work was put on hold in Santa Clara County for a time thanks to burnt toast. Fire alarms went off in the building that houses the county registrar’s office at 10:50 a.m., causing voters and staff to evacuate.

A worker had burned a piece of toast, triggering the alarms, said Anita Torres, a county elections spokeswoman. Voting at the facility resumed 15 minutes later, she said.

In Sonoma County, scores of voters showed up at incorrect polling places this morning, according to that county’s top elections official.

“We’re getting some reports from our precinct inspectors that voters are showing up in the wrong precinct,” Sonoma County Registrar of Voters Bill Rousseau said.

“A lot of times we have two precincts in one polling place. They’re not at either of those. They’re not on the voter rosters,” Rousseau said in an interview.

The voters who arrived at incorrect polling places were given provisional ballots.

This kind of voter confusion takes place during elections but the popularity of today’s vote makes it more pronounced, Rousseau said.

“People who don’t normally vote, they’re not used to the procedures,” he said. “They think they can show up at any polling place. There’s new voters and people who don’t vote in a lot of elections and that’s probably causing a little bit of confusion.”

Voters can find their polling place by going online or looking at their sample ballots.