CVF in the News

By Vicki Gonzalez, CapRadio, October 1, 2024

Excerpt:

We’re rounding the corner to Election Day and soon ballots will arrive in the mail. But even though we do this every two years, it doesn’t hurt to have a refresher on what we’ll be voting on, outside of candidates - from propositions to bonds. Insight Host Vicki Gonzalez spoke with Kim Alexander, the President and Founder of the California Voter Foundation, as well as Dr. Mindy Romero, the Director and Founder of the USC Center for Inclusive Democracy, for an Election Literacy 101. (Full Audio)

By Nisa Khan, KQED, September 16, 2024

Excerpt:

According to the U.S. Census, California has the second-lowest rate of people living alone in the entire country. This means Californians are far more likely to live with people such as parents, grandparents, partners and roommates than most Americans.

But for all the benefits that sharing your home can bring, this might not always be a smooth living situation when it comes to politics — especially during election season.

Americans and their view of politics have been increasingly polarized over the years — to the point where many people have stopped talking to friends and family members about politics and even sought estrangement.

Last month, in a viral post on X (formerly Twitter), the founder of a “divorce registry” company wrote that the question “Can my husband find out who I am voting for in the Presidential Election?” was one she’d been hearing “a lot.”

By David Benda, Redding Searchlight, September 10, 2024

Excerpt:

Ignoring the advice of its attorney, the Shasta County Elections commission voted 3-1 on Monday to send a recommendation to supervisors to limit the number of absentee ballots in elections and to return to one-day voting.

Before the vote, County Counsel Joseph Larmour told commissioners to table the issue.

“It would be my recommendation that this be taken at a different time and continued. The document as written is internally inconsistent and as a legal matter wouldn’t withstand a challenge. So, if we could edit this, then I could recommend that the board adopt it, but I couldn’t in its current format,” Larmour said.

The recommendation also was questioned by Shasta County Registrar of Voters Thomas Toller, who told the Record Searchlight before the meeting that it did not comply with state law.

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By Sofia Ahmed, PolitiFact, August 27, 2024

Excerpt:

Voter ID remains a contentious topic in U.S. elections, and a new California bill related to the practice has become the target of misinformation.

"SB 1174 was just passed in California, and it opens the door for illegal immigrants to vote by eliminating the requirement for voter ID at polling places,"  read a screenshot of an X post shared on Instagram.

The Instagram post was flagged as part of Meta’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram.) We also saw a Facebook post that said the bill would "ban voter ID statewide."

These claims are misleading and lack context about California’s current voter ID laws.

By Fox 40 New staff, Fox 40 News, July 29, 2024

California Voter Foundation President and Founder Kim Alexander discusses the need for poll workers for the upcoming 2024 presidential election.

Full Video - https://fox40.com/video/highlighting-the-need-for-poll-workers-ahead-of-...

By Grace Case, The Mercury News, May 6, 2024

Excerpt:

In the end, it came down to 19 ballots in Santa Clara County that ultimately made the difference in the hotly contested Congressional District 16 race — ballots that were never counted the first time around due to simple human error.

While a change equal to just a fraction of a percent of votes is unlikely to shift the entire results of most elections, a once-in-a-generation perfect tie in this case exposed the gaffes and fumbles by one county in the tabulation process.

What followed the March primary was two months of counting and recounting more than 182,000 votes in the race to replace retiring U.S. Rep. Anna Eshoo — a stunning saga that finally came to a close on Wednesday afternoon, with Assemblymember Evan Low emerging victorious over Santa Clara County Supervisor Joe Simitian by a margin of just five votes.

By Michael R. Blood, AP News, May 2, 2024

Excerpt:

Nearly two months after the election, a recount settled the outcome in a Northern California U.S. House primary contest, breaking a mathematically improbable tie for second place but also spotlighting the lengthy stretch it took count the votes.

Most California residents vote by mail, and in the pursuit of accuracy, thoroughness and counting every vote, the nation’s most populous state has gained a reputation for tallies that can drag on for weeks — and sometimes longer. Voting in the state’s primary election concluded on March 5.

At time when many Americans have doubts about election integrity, a two-month stretch to tally votes in one House race “absolutely is a problem from an optics point of view,” said Kim Alexander, president of the nonpartisan California Voter Foundation, which seeks to improve the voting process.

By Grace Hase and Harriet Blair Rowan, The San Jose Mercury News, April 26, 2024

Excerpt:

Mystery, sniping and challenged ballots — all swirl around the extraordinary recount in the Congressional District 16 race as it drags into its third week.

Who will emerge the victor — if anyone — between Assemblymember Evan Low and Santa Clara County Supervisor Joe Simitian who are in a dead heat for second place?

There may be no hanging chads in this ballot counting, but the much awaited outcome is still very much unknown.

On April 15, Santa Clara and San Mateo counties began the ambitious task of recounting the more than 182,000 votes cast in the March primary race to replace retiring U.S. Rep. Anna Eshoo. Since then, nearly 175,000 ballots have been pulled out of storage boxes and rescanned by machines. As of Friday afternoon, Low had a one vote lead on Simitian.

By Jenny Huh, KGET, March 29, 2024

Excerpt:

The 2024 election cycle is well underway, and in California, voters may be able to return their vote-by-mail ballots in person. 

In fact, voters in some counties, like Fresno and Tulare, have already participated via this new method for the March 5 Presidential Primary Election. 

Assembly Bill 626 was introduced by Assemblymember Gail Pellerin, chair of the California Assembly’s Elections Committee and former chief elections official in Santa Cruz County.

Experts said the new law is to make voting more accessible and speed up vote counting.

“To return a vote by mail ballot to an in-person voting location, and that [voters] don’t have to place that ballot in the identification envelope in certain circumstances,” Chris Micheli, adjunct professor at the McGeorge School of Law, discussing what the law does. 

By Sameea Kamal, CAL Matters March 19, 2024

Excerpt:

Two weeks plus one day after voting ended in California’s primary, there are 108,000 ballots left to be counted, and a dozen congressional and legislative races remain too close to call. 

While the uncounted ballots are less than about 2% of the 7.7 million cast, readers have again asked why it takes so long for California to finish counting votes.

California started mailing ballots to all registered voters for the November 2020 election. This year, about 50% of ballots cast were counted on primary night March 5, compared to 41% in June 2022, according to data from the California Voter Foundation. 

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