Register to vote in upcoming Presidential General Election through Oct. 21

The Orange County Registrar of Voters will begin mailing voter information guides to registered voters this week. If you are not registered to vote in the upcoming Presidential General Election, you can do so until October 21 through the Registrar's website.

As a reminder, Mission Viejo voters on the November 5 ballot will consider Measure Y, an increase to the Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) charged to out-of-town guests staying at the City's hotels and short-term rentals.

An increase to the TOT, commonly known as a "hotel tax" or "bed tax," will only be used to fund the City's police services, emergency response and infrastructure and would bring the City's low TOT rate in line with other Orange County cities.

Mission Viejo's current TOT of 8% is the lowest rate in Orange County, and passage of the measure would increase it to 12%. Potential proceeds from the special tax could only be used for payment of police services, funding of emergency response, and maintaining City infrastructure assets as necessary including streets, sidewalks, storm drains and trails. Over the past four years, the Orange County Sheriff's Department agreement increased by more than $4 million. The measure is estimated to generate an additional $670,000 annually, and expenditures would be reviewed by an independent auditor and the results disclosed during the City's annual audit process.

The City Council conducted a Public Hearing at its July 9 meeting to place the measure before the voters. That action followed a Community Opinion Survey that essentially reflected the community in favor of making the TOT more in line with other Orange County cities and asking out-of-town guests to pay more of a share of security and maintenance costs for the City of Mission Viejo.

Additional information about the measure is available on the City's Election Information page, and visit the Registrar of Voters website for more information on the General Election.