Time to vote: Election Day is here

Whether you’ve been waiting patiently or anxiously, Election Day is here. 

Locally, Berkeley residents are casting votes for mayor, four City Council members, school and rent board races, state Senate District 7, Alameda County Supervisor District 5 races, a dozen Berkeley ballot measures and the Alameda County District Attorney recall.

Don’t worry if your vote-by-mail ballot is still on your table; you have until 8 p.m. today to vote in person or drop off your ballot at a voting center. You can also drop it off at a post office, but make sure it is postdated Nov. 5.

Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., and there are several places to vote in person or drop off your ballot.

What’s on the Nov. 5 General Election ballot?

Lots in Berkeley.

With Mayor Jesse Arreguin in a runoff election against AC Transit Director Jovanka Beckles for the state Senate District 7, that left the door open for a new mayor to be elected in Berkeley. City Councilmember Sophie Hahn is vying for the office with former Councilmember Kate Harrison, who resigned in January, nonprofit consultant Adena Ishii, political newcomer Logan Bowie and perennial candidate Naomi Pete.   

With Hahn running for mayor and Sue Wengraf retiring in districts 5 and 6, respectively, the race is on for those seats. Berkeley High School teacher Shoshana O’Keefe, Solano Avenue Business Improvement District Advisory Board chair Todd Andrew and nonprofit founder Nilang Gor seek Hahn’s seat, while East Bay Municipal Utility District Director Andy Katz and Brent Blackaby, the co-founder of an online privacy company, are vying to replace Wengraf.

Terry Taplin is defending his District 2 City Council seat against  Jenny Guarino, a master’s student specializing in affordable housing and urban policy at UC Berkeley’s Goldman School of Public Policy. Ben Bartlett, seeking his third term, is going up against realtor Deborah Matthews and John “Chip” Moore, a member of the Planning Commission and Police Accountability Board in District 3.

With two seats available on the Berkeley School Board, incumbents Laura Babitt and Ana Vasudeo are seeking to defend their positions against Jen Corn, director of school improvement at Oakland Unified School District and a former Berkeley teacher and principal, Abdur Sikder, a computer science lecturer at San Francisco State University, and Norma J.F. Harrison,  a perennial candidate and realtor.

Incumbents Xavier Johnson and Dominique Walker and newcomers Avery Arbaugh and Alfred Twu are running together as a “right to housing” slate for a seat on the Rent Stabilization Board. Incumbent Andy Kelley is also running to keep his seat, and two-time candidate Carole Marasovic is vying again for a seat on the board, which has four open seats. 

There are 12 ballot measures ranging from increased or extended taxes for city services like street paving, libraries and parks to ordinance changes that would affect renters, landlords, developers, business owners and nonprofits, among others. 

Oakland Councilmember Nikki Fortunato Bas and Emeryville Councilmember John Bauters are facing off to fill Alameda County’s Supervisor District 5 seat vacated by longtime Supervisor Keith Carson, who retired in December. 

A recall election to remove Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price from office is on the ballot.

Berkeleyside is covering all of the above races, so check our results page after 8 p.m., when the polls close, for updated results. 

How to submit your ballot

You have until 8 tonight to vote in person. If you completed your mail-in ballot, drop it off in any regular blue U.S. Postal Service mailbox — no postage needed. Make sure to sign it. It must be postmarked by Tuesday.

The county has also set up several secure drop boxes until 8 p.m. This might be preferable to dropping your ballot in the mail if you’ve waited this long. Check out this interactive map to find the box closest to you. Here are the seven boxes in Berkeley:

Berkeley Civic City Center, 2180 Milvia St.  UC Berkeley, between Sather Gate and Architects and the Engineers Building Frances A. Recreation Center, 2800 Park St. Claremont Branch Library, 2940 Benvenue Ave. North Branch Library, 1170 The Alameda Berkeley Public Library West Branch, 1125 University Ave. Behind Berkeley Civic Center — Alston Way, 2180 Milvia St. 

You can also vote in person or bring your ballot to any of the many voting centers in Alameda County, regardless of where you live. Find one that’s convenient for you on this map or by calling 1-800-834-6454. The centers will be open today from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Here are nine in Berkeley:

UC Berkeley Public Service Center, 2465 Bancroft Way #218 Ed Roberts Campus, 3075 Adeline St. Berkeley Arts Magnet School, 2015 Virginia St.   Willard Middle School, 2425 Stuart St.  Epworth United Methodist Church, 1953 Hopkins St. Rosa Park Elementary School, 920 Allston Way Malcolm X Elementary School, 1731 Prince St. West Campus, Oxford gymnasium, 2110 Browning St.  YWCA Berkeley/Oakland, 2600 Bancroft Way

If you never received or lost your ballot or made a mistake filling it out, you can still vote at any of the centers. Bring your mail-in ballot to the center if you have one, and you can swap it for a fresh one. 

At many of these locations, you can register to vote on the spot if you missed the deadline, and you’ll be able to cast a conditional ballot. Check which sites provide this service.

When are results expected to start coming in?

Polls close at 8 p.m., and the first batch of ballots, which will be mail-in, should arrive by 8:30, if not sooner. 

“These are the votes that we have been processing leading up to election night and are queued up to be our first votes posted,” Alameda County Registrar Tim Dupuis said in an email.

The registrar’s office will stay open until the last in-person ballots are counted, Dupuis said.

They will resume posting results from mail-in ballots on Thursday. It could take several days or weeks until the final votes are tallied.