CVF-News Roundup: Tuesday, April 30, 2024
Hi Folks,
This edition of CVF-News provides news and updates on a number of important developments. And it includes a plug for this week's Big Day of Giving fundraiser, which I hope will inspire you to support our work protecting and supporting voters and elections.
-- Kim Alexander, President & Founder
California Voter Foundation
Primary results certified; election recount in CD 16 continues
On April 12, California Secretary of State Dr. Shirley Weber certified the results of the March 5th, Presidential Primary election, available online here. In all, 7.7 million Californians cast ballots, representing 35 percent of the state's registered voters and 29 percent of eligible voters. 88.6 percent of ballots were cast as vote-by-mail ballots, while 11.4 percent were cast by voters in-person at voting sites. Nearly 4 million of the ballots cast were counted on Election Night. The remaining 3.7 million were counted in the days and weeks following Election Day.
The top two federal and state candidates who ran in the Primary advance to the General Election ballot, under California's "Top Two" primary system. One Congressional district, CD 16, located in Santa Clara and San Mateo counties had a tie in the results for the second place position in the contest. A recount was requested and is currently underway.
As reported by the San Jose Mercury News over the weekend, the recount has now entered the third week and has been hampered by the challenge of collecting and organizing every ballot in the district by precinct in a Voter's Choice Act county where ballots are returned county-wide rather than in specific precincts. Another challenge is the disposition of a handful of conditional provisional ballots where registrants did not check the box affirming U.S. citizenship status but did confirm citizenship when signing the required voter registration application under penalty of perjury.
Cathy Darling Allen to retire as Shasta County Clerk
Cathy Darling Allen, who has served as Shasta County Clerk and Registrar of Voters since 2004, will retire from her role as an election official effective May 4th. As was announced in February and reported in local news site Shasta Scout, Cathy is experiencing serious health issues that are exacerbated by her role as Shasta County's chief election official. Cathy also serves as the California Voter Foundation's Board Chair and is a statewide and nationally-recognized leader in election administration and innovation. An open house at the Shasta County Elections Office will be held on the afternoon of May 3 to celebrate Cathy's career with community members. More details are available via the elections office's Facebook page.
CVF updates Program Goals
Earlier this month, CVF's Board updated the organization's Program Goals as well as CVF's Theory of Change, and also adopted a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Statement, available on CVF's web site. CVFs updated program goals are to:
Advance informed, confident voting by disseminating reliable, accurate information to voters and reducing voter confusion through standardization of election practices and effective communication from trusted messengers.
Support and protect election officials and election administration through increased funding, legal and law enforcement protections, addressing mis- and disinformation and community-building.
Promote continuous election security and auditing improvements as well as increase public awareness of how elections are securely conducted and results verified.
Thursday is Big Day of Giving!
On Thursday, May 2, CVF will join with hundreds of other nonprofits based in the Sacramento region to celebrate Big Day of Giving and encourage community members to support local causes. Please consider donating to CVF and supporting our work serving voters and protecting elections! Learn more and give at bigdayofgiving.org/cvf.
About the California Voter Foundation
The California Voter Foundation is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization working through research, oversight, outreach and demonstration projects to improve the election process so that it better serves the needs and interests of voters. CVF-News is a free, electronic newsletter featuring news and updates about the California Voter Foundation's projects and activities.