Dublin Special Election 'Must Not Be Overlooked': Alex Padilla

DUBLIN, CA — Dublin's Special Election on Nov. 5 is front of mind for election officials.

California Secretary of State Alex Padilla, county election officials and electrical utilities are working to mitigate the impact of a possible power shutoff or wildfire on Election Day next week.

"Our elections must not be overlooked as California grapples with power shutoffs during wildfire season," Padilla said.

There are elections in 32 counties and the Assembly District 1 Special General Election on Nov. 5, and Padilla advises each county to develop a contingency plan before each election and prepare for potential disasters including power outages.

In the Tri-Valley, the only Election Day contest is in Dublin. Voters in that city will decide who should serve as the Area 3 Trustee on the Dublin Unified School District Governing Board. There are two candidates vying for the seat, Catherine Kuo and Malcolm Norrington.

At press time, there are no PG&E outages planned in Dublin on Election Day, but voters are encouraged to vote by mail or vote early. See a list of polling places here.

Sonoma County Chief Deputy Registrar of Voters Wendy Hudson said her office has been monitoring polling places in the Kincade Fire evacuation zones and PG&E power shutoff areas.

The office has generators and can relocate polling places if need be on Nov. 5.

Padilla said in a news release that California utilities also have a responsibility to work with elections officials so voters are not disenfranchised because of power shutoffs.

—Bay City News contributed to this report.