Martinez Unified board authorizes all-mail special election for June 17 trustee vacancy

March 3, Martinez — The Martinez Unified School District Board of Education on March 3 voted to authorize an all-mail ballot special election on June 17 to fill the trustee area 3 vacancy, approving a resolution the superintendent said will lower the district’s election costs.

Superintendent Helen Rossi told the board that “Elections Code section 4004 allows a special election in a school district to fill a vacancy on the school district's governing board to be conducted wholly as an all-mail ballot election if the legislative body of the school district adopts the resolution authorizing the use of mailed ballots.” Rossi said the district could save “at minimum $20,000” by using mail ballots and described estimated election costs of about $43,000 at the low end versus as much as $64,000 for other options.

The resolution authorizing mailed ballots was placed before the board so the district could file it with the Contra Costa County Elections Division and open the candidate filing window. Rossi said she would file the resolution with the Elections Office the same day; she said the candidate filing window…