El Dorado County working to keep roads leading to voting centers open during snow storm
EL DORADO COUNTY — With voting underway for the primary election, county election offices in the Northern California Sierra Nevada and Foothills are taking emergency precautions leading up to the forecast blizzard conditions.
El Dorado County resident Kristin Saldine has not cast her ballot yet. She promises she will.
"It's terrible timing," Saldine said. "We all should have thought ahead."
El Dorado County Registrar of Voters Bill O'Neill said lots of people are waiting to vote this election cycle despite early voting that's been available since February 5.
"This'll be the first time I've presided over an election in a blizzard," O'Neill said. "The turnout is low."
With blizzard-like conditions approaching, there is an all-out effort to keep roads to 13 voting centers across the county open.
El Dorado County Director of Transportation Rafael Martinez is teaming up with the elections office. Snow plows, graders and sand trucks are lined up and ready to roll.
"As of tonight, I have approximately 80 staff on standby on the west slope and 15 staff on standby in the Tahoe Basin," Martinez said Thursday. "Got to make sure that we are providing for the general public's right to vote."
"And the biggest storm of the season comes over this weekend," Saldine said. "It's rotten luck."
So far, El Dorado County reports only 19% of voters have cast their ballots. That's about half of what they would expect at this point in early voting.