Politics

Election Day is Nov. 3, but voters in Santa Clara County have already started casting and submitting their ballots, partly thanks to the installation of dozens of 24-hour drop boxes placed by election officials throughout the county.

Measure RR on the Nov. 3 ballot is a one-eighth-cent sales tax that would be levied for 30 years in order to help “save” Caltrain, the commuter train line that runs between Gilroy and San Francisco, according to supporters.

Voting is underway with less than three weeks to go until the Nov. 3 general election, as residents throughout Santa Clara County have begun casting their ballots by a variety of methods.

The election is scheduled for Nov. 3, and voters must make sure they are registered by Oct. 19. Early voting begins at the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters office on Oct. 5. Anyone who wants to request an absentee ballot must do so by Oct. 27, though election officials warn voters to turn in their ballots as early as possible.

Sig Sanchez—former mayor of Gilroy and loyal advocate for South County throughout his 55-year public service career—died peacefully Jan. 30, according to family members.

Nearly six days after Election Day, longtime Morgan Hill City Councilmember Larry Carr made a statement accepting the results that show a widening gap separating him from challenger Gino Borgioli, who holds a lead in the race for City Council District A.

Proponents of Valley Water’s Measure S on the Nov. 3 ballot say the parcel tax is crucial to reinforcing water supplies, flood protection and other priorities for nearly 2 million Santa Clara County residents; but its detractors say the measure lacks details and transparency, and caution that the proposed tax has no sunset date.

While Morgan Hill Mayor Rich Constantine—the only candidate who qualified to have his name on the Nov. 3 ballot in the mayoral election—has taken an overwhelming percentage of the vote, a late write-in candidate has received 777 votes, according to the registrar’s office.

The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority’s draft 10-year outlook for Measure B has received sharp criticism from South County officials, who say the agency is going against the voters by allocating most of the funds away from street repair.

Proponents for and against Measure T—the $24 parcel tax designed to protect and preserve undeveloped land and natural open spaces in the Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority district—view the measure through entirely different lenses even in the context of the coronavirus pandemic.