Inyo County press release

Inyo County Clerk-Recorder-Registrar of Voters Kammi Foote and the Inyo County Board of Supervisors would like to remind residents that deadlines for registering to vote in the upcoming November 8 General Election are fast approaching.

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In addition to selecting a new President of the United States and deciding the fate of 17 statewide ballot measures, registered voters in Inyo County will be asked to weigh in on three questions related to commercial cannabis activity.

These questions were placed on the ballot by the Board of Supervisors and include:

Measure G: “Should the County of Inyo adopt regulations which would allow COMMERCIAL cannabis businesses within the County, included but not limited to cultivation, processing, manufacturing, sales, distribution, warehousing and transportation of MEDICAL cannabis?”

Measure H: “If Proposition 64, the Marijuana Legalization Initiative Statute, passes, should the County of Inyo adopt regulations which would allow COMMERCIAL cannabis businesses within the County, included but not limited to cultivation, processing, manufacturing, sales, distribution, warehousing and transportation of RECREATIONAL cannabis?”

Measure I:

“Shall the County ordinance adding Chapter 3.50 to the Inyo County Code imposing a 5% gross receipts tax on COMMERCIAL marijuana businesses (but no less than $1,250 per growing cycle for cultivation BUSINESSES) in the unincorporated area of Inyo County, and authorizing the Board of Supervisors to increase the tax to a maximum of 12.5% over time, be adopted?”

Approved for placement on the November ballot at the Board’s August 9 meeting, the first two measures are advisory in nature, meaning they simply were created to give the Board an indication of public sentiment about the possible adoption of regulations allowing commercial cannabis businesses within Inyo County, either for recreational or medicinal purposes.

The third measure, if approved, would enact a tax on January 1, 2017 on any cannabis operations within Inyo County. The Board of Supervisors described it as a just-in-case move – a means of putting a tax schedule in place – in the event the aforementioned activities do become legal in the County.

Residents wanting to weigh in these questions and who aren’t currently registered to vote have until Monday, October 24 to do so. Foote noted that residents can register in person at the County Courthouse in Independence or the DMV in Bishop; by sending a postage-free form through the mail, which are available at the DMV, City Hall in Bishop and all branches of the Inyo County Free Public Library; or by going online to http://registertovote.ca.gov/ .

Residents who aren’t sure of their current voting status can now go to the Inyo County Elections website, http://elections.inyocounty.us/p/register-to-vote.html, and instantly find out by entering their last name and date of birth.

The new feature is one of two tools recently created by the Inyo County Information Services Department at Foote’s request in order to make the voting process that much easier for Inyo County residents. The other tool, found at http://elections.inyocounty.us/p/where-to-vote.html, helps voters find their polling place on election day.

Voters who prefer not to go to the polls and would rather vote by mail also have until October 24 to register, but can begin voting as early as October 10. The last day registered voters may request vote-by-mail ballots is November 1.

Foote said her office started sending out absentee ballots to military and overseas voters on Tuesday, September 13.

Anyone needing more information on the November 8 election can call the Inyo County Elections Office at (760) 878-0222 or visit http://elections.inyocounty.us/. All 17 statewide ballot measures can be found at http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/ballot-measures/qualified-ballot-measures.

If you desire a copy of Measure I (and Ordinance 1202), please call the elections official’s office at (760) 878-0222 and a copy will be mailed at no cost to you.  You may also access the full text of the measure (and ordinance) on the county website at http://elections.inyocounty.us/p/what-on-ballot.html.

 

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