Upcoming San Diego County Elections: A Ballot Guide

Local Government Structure:

San Diego County follows the most common form of local government by mayor and city council. This local government is also known as municipal government which is created around specific groups of populations in an area. It is also known as one of the lowest tiers of government structure. A mayor’s job is to be the leader of the county of local government, think of it as the “president” of your city only with less overall power. Meanwhile, a city council is elected to those positions by specific districts and vetoes/accepts the mayor's proposals. They also act as a gateway between the mayor and the people. 

Elected Officials:

Currently, the mayor of San Diego County is Todd Gloria who is a member of he democratic party and has taken part in public service throughout his career. Some city council members also include the Council President Joe LaCava of District 1, Council Member Jenniffer Campbell of District 2, Kent Lee of District 6, and Vivian Morena of District 8. 

Upcoming Elections:

The next election in San Diego will start on the week of October 6th through November 5th, where registered voters will receive their ballots in the mail and be able to either mail it in, drop it off at a ballot drop off box in the county, or vote in person. If you are not registered to vote yet,  you must do so at least 15 days before the elections take place. On the ballot, there will be incumbent Todd Gloria and Larry Turner,  as for city attorney there will be Brian Maienschein and Heather Ferbert, for the district 3 election there will be Stephen Whitburn and Coleen Cusack, and for district 9 there will be Terry Hoskins and Sean Elo-Rivera. 

Local drop off locations can be found here: https://www.sdvote.com/content/dam/rov/en/pdf/special-elections-2021/ListOfProposedMailBallotDropOffLocations.pdf

The dates and locations for in person voting can also be found here: https://www.sdvote.com/content/rov/en/elections/election_information.html

Importance of voting:

Besides exercising your right to vote, local county elections are where the people have the most power who is elected. Furthermore, those elected in these positions will also have the most effect on your daily life compared to those elected in other larger governmental positions. That is why it is important for one to go in and make sure that the person you want will end up in the position.