SAN DIEGO — The deadline for registering to vote in the special election for the vacant Board of Supervisors seat is days away for residents of District 4.
Those that live inside the boundaries of the district have until Monday, July 31 to register in order to receive a ballot in the mail for the Aug. 15 election. All registration forms must be postmarked or delivered by the deadline. Voters can also register online up until midnight.
According to officials with the Registrar of Voters office, prospective voters will otherwise need to make a trip in person to the Registrar’s office in Kearny Mesa or visit a vote center starting Aug. 5 to conditionally register.
Voters who conditionally register after the deadline will be able to submit a provisional ballot through Aug. 15. Once the conditional voter registration is verified, registration will become active and the vote from the provisional ballot will be counted. More about conditional voter registration can be found here.
Residents can check if they’re eligible to participate in the election here. Those who live within the boundaries of the district check their registration or register to vote online at the Registrar of Voters’ website.
The Aug. 15 primary will be the first election to fill former Supervisor Nathan Fletcher’s seat on the county board. Fletcher resigned on May 15 following accusations of sexual misconduct in his role as chairman of the MTS board, leaving the seat open.
Four candidates are running for the vacant seat: Marine Corps veteran and LGBTQ+ advocate Janessa Goldbeck, retired Marine Paul McQuigg, San Diego City Councilmember Monica Montgomery Steppe, and small business owner and founder of “Reopen San Diego” Amy Reichert.
If a candidate garners more than 50% of the vote during the primary, they will assume the role for the remainder of the term, which runs into January 2027. If a candidate does not meet that threshold, the special general election will move to a runoff on Nov. 7.
Early voting in the special election began on July 17 for residents in the Fourth Supervisorial District. Voters are able to drop off their completed ballots at the County Registrar of Voters’ office in Kearny Mesa from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.
Ballot drop box locations also opened for District 4 voters last week at 27 locations throughout the county. To find a nearby drop box, voters can go to the Registrar of Voters’ website.
Seven vote centers will also offer in-person early voting starting on Saturday, Aug. 5. The centers will be open daily from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. until the final day of voting on the Aug. 15 election day, when 14 additional sites will open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. A list of vote centers can be found here.
Election officials encourage voters to take advantage of early voting opportunities ahead of the primary, using the convenience of mail or ballot drop-offs. Early voters can track the status of their ballot through the U.S. Postal Service’s “Where’s My Ballot?” program.
District 4 includes the City of La Mesa, the City of Lemon Grove, Casa-De Oro – Mount Helix, Rancho San Diego, parts of Spring Valley and the following City of San Diego communities: Alta Vista, Azalea Park, Balboa Park, Bankers Hill, Bay Park, Bay Terraces, Birdland, Broadway Heights, Chollas Creek, Chollas View, City Heights, Civita, Clairemont Mesa, College Area, El Cerrito, Emerald Hills, Encanto, Hillcrest, Kensington-Talmadge, Lincoln Park, Linda Vista, Lomita Village, Mid-City, Middletown, Mission Hills, Mission Valley, Montezuma Mesa-SDSU, Morena, Normal Heights, North Bay Terraces, North Clairemont, North Park, Oak Park, Old Town, Paradise Hills, portions of Grantville, portions of Kearny Mesa, Rolando, Serra Mesa, Skyline, University Heights, Valencia Park and Webster.
