Marin’s elections will look dramatically different this year thanks to new laws meant to allow for safe voting amid a pandemic. Every registered voter in California will be mailed a ballot, and polling places will be open for the three days prior to Election Day, to make up for fewer locations. The number of polling places has been consolidated from 89 to about 30 countywide, so every town will not have its own polling place. Drop boxes will be placed throughout the county for voters to quickly submit their vote-by-mail ballots. Lynda Roberts, the registrar of voters, is stressing that residents should double check their information now and send in their ballot at least a week before Election Day to allow for a smooth process. Voter turnout is expected to be around 90 percent, and Covid-related safety precautions could create long lines. “I really need voters to understand how Covid will impact these polling places,” she said. “It’s not going to be what people are used to.” Worry over the integrity of the election has reverberated nationwide, as the Trump administration systematically made cuts to the United States Postal Service. Mail boxes were removed, delivery runs were canceled and sorting centers were closed. Overtime hours were reduced, and leadership was reorganized. But this week, Postmaster General Louis DeJoy suspended the changes prior to testifying before Congress and as a number of states prepared to sue. The postal service maintains that it is ready to handle whatever volume of election mail it receives this fall. “What people can expect when they vote by mail this election is what the American public has always experienced with the U.S.P.S.—certainty, continuity and stability,” spokesman Augustine Ruiz wrote in an email. “The postal service is not slowing down election mail or any other mail. Instead, we continue to employ a robust and proven process to ensure proper handling of all election mail consistent with our standards.” Because of the increase in mailed ballots, California is also giving elections departments more time to allow ballots to come in. In previous elections, ballots received after the week of Election Day did not count, even if they were postmarked on Election Day. But the deadline has been extended to 17 days after the election, and the elections department has the usual 30 days to certify the results. West Marin voters this year will decide on 13 statewide initiatives and one local tax measure, a $212 per-parcel tax to help fund the Shoreline Unified School District, dubbed Measure L. None of the local special districts have seats that are in contention, although a few incumbents are set to give their seats up to new candidates. On the Bolinas Community Public Utility District board, Victor Amoroso’s term is ending and Kirsten Walker, a construction consultant, is the sole candidate to replace him. For the Shoreline Unified School District, trustees Ethan Minor and Avito Miranda did not file for re-election, and Kylee Lang, an office manager and mother, is the sole candidate to replace them. In the Bolinas-Stinson Union School District, trustee Bob Demmerle is not running, and Nicolette Hahn Niman, a mother, rancher and author, is set to fill his spot. Michelle Rutledge, the president of the three-person Nicasio School Board, is on her way out, and Daniel Ager is set to replace her. To see when your ballot is mailed, received and counted, sign up at ballottrax.net.