Amid Whistleblower Warning Healdsburg Will Vote By Mail As Is

HEALDSBURG, CA — Healdsburg will keep its vote by mail procedures unchanged along with the rest of Sonoma County for the Nov. 3 general election unless ordered to do otherwise, the registrar of voters announced Monday on the heels of a federal whistleblower warning.

Evelyn T. Mendez said Sonoma County will keep its procedures unchanged and will adopt revisions only at the direction of the California Secretary of State.

The announcement follows the warning by a federal whistleblower that an untested technical system the U.S. Postal Service built for mail voting could disrupt the midterm elections if allowed to be implemented.

Mendez said her office continues to monitor court developments involving legal challenges to new U.S. Postal Service rules imposed by President Donald Trump in an executive order.

The whistleblower alleged that USPS cannot safely implement the executive order and may have violated a court order by continuing its work. Critics urged USPS to abandon the plan, warning that it could disrupt the midterm elections and interfere with voting by mail.

A federal judge blocked the order amid litigation.

Because courts are still considering those matters, the county will leave its current procedures unchanged, Mendez said in a letter Tuesday.

She said the county remains committed to transparent, fair, accurate, safe, and secure elections.

County Voter Information Guides will begin arriving at the end of September. The county will mail Vote-by-Mail ballots during the week of Oct. 5.

Sonoma County will operate 32 voting centers and 23 official ballot drop boxes.

The county’s new elections office in Santa Rosa will open for early in-person voting Oct. 5 at 3880 Brickway Blvd., Suite 200.

Seven other sites will open Oct. 24, and 25, followed by more on Oct. 31.

Voters who place ballots in official drop boxes before 8 p.m. on Election Day will meet the deadline.

Mailed ballots must carry a postmark dated Nov. 3 or earlier and reach election officials within seven days after Election Day.

USPS does not guarantee that ballots placed in collection boxes close to election day will receive timely postmarks.

Mendez encouraged voters to return ballots through vote centers or official drop boxes as alternatives to mailing.

Voters can find Vote Center locations, operating hours, drop-box locations, and a map at SoCoVotes.com.

Polls close Nov. 3, 2026.