CVF in the News

By Sameea Kamal, CalMatters, March 2, 2024

Excerpt:

Between COVID-19 and election fraud conspiracy theories since 2020, it has been a tumultuous time for California’s election workers. 

The state lost 15% of its election officials between the November 2020 election and July 2021, according to the California Voter Foundation, which documented incidents of threats, harassment and stress. While not all left due to safety concerns, more than half of California counties have a new registrar of voters since 2020, compared to 17% turnover between 2016 and 2020.

Soon joining that list is Cathy Darling Allen, the registrar in Shasta County, where officials have faced intimidation and threats by some unhappy with election results. She announced in February that she is retiring in May due to health issues — and reducing stress is essential to recovery.

By Josh Haskell, ABC 7, February 17, 2024

Excerpt:

When you go to vote in the California primary, you may be surprised to see that in the race for U.S. Senate, you're asked to vote twice!

Plus, there are more names in the contest for the six-year Senate term, which starts in January 2025 than for the special election, which will last roughly a month once the November results are certified in early December. The point of the special election is to fill out the remainder of late California Senator Diane Feinstein's seat.

Adding to the confusion, Gov. Gavin Newsom's appointment - Laphonza Butler - decided not to run in either contest, so her name is not on the ballot.

By Carly Severn, KQED, February 2, 2024

Excerpt:

2024 is another big election year — and before the general election in November that’ll decide the next president of the United States, California has our Presidential Primary Election.

If you’re a registered California voter, your ballot is either on its way or has already arrived in your mailbox. But what if you make a mistake on your ballot as you’re filling it out? Or you’re just not sure how to fill it out in the first place?

Read on to learn how to fill out your ballot, how important your signature is, and your options if you need to start again with a fresh ballot.

First of all: Am I registered to vote?

By Carly Severn, KQED, January 30, 2024

Excerpt:

The 2024 general election in November will decide who will be the President of the United States for the next four years. But way before that, California voters have another big election on March 5: Our state’s presidential primary. 

‘The good news is that nobody has to vote with the ballot that they get in the mail if they don’t want to.’ Kim Alexander, president of the nonpartisan California Voter Foundation

Among other things, the March primary election allows voters to choose the candidate from their preferred political party that they ultimately want to run for president in November. But if you’re registered as a “no party preference” voter (sometimes referred to as an “independent”), you’ll need to take action to be able to vote in these races. Otherwise, the ballot you’ll receive starting in early February won’t have any presidential candidates on it.

By Vicki Gonzalez, CapRadio, January 9, 2024

Excerpt:

California is likely to play a more impactful role in the 2024 election as our state’s primary has been moved up to Tuesday, March 5– also known as “Super Tuesday.” Ballots will be sent out next month and voting starts soon after, but there is concern over voter enthusiasm and participation. Joining us to discuss what we all need to know as the primary approaches are Kim Alexander, president of the California Voter Foundation, and Mindy Romero, founder and director of the Center for Inclusive Democracy. (Full Audio)

By Frank Stoltze, LAist, November 28, 2023

Excerpt:

The L.A. County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved a proposal to publish candidate statements online in addition to inside printed sample ballots, a move that will dramatically reduce candidates’ cost of getting their statements in front of voters.

Right now, many candidates do not buy space in sample ballots because they say it's cost prohibitive.

The cost is more than $200,000 to get each countywide candidate’s 200-word statement in the sample ballot, according to Registrar Dean Logan. The fee is based on printing and mailing costs to send the guide to 5.6 million registered voters, he said.

Under the plan, the Registrar of Voters would publish candidates' statements online for a fee of about $280, starting with the March 2024 primary election.

By Fox 40 Staff, Fox 40, November 13, 2023
By David Benda and Damon Arthur, Record Searchlight, November 8, 2023

Excerpt:

Tuesday’s special election filled a seat on the Gateway Unified School District board and created a fire protection district in the historic community of Shasta.

While the eyes of election observers were on Shasta County, voter turnout was extremely low.

With all precincts reporting and a portion of mail-in ballots counted, county election officials reported less than 20% of the people eligible to vote cast a ballot.

Votes left to be counted include provisional ballots, ballots still in the mail, vote-by-mail ballots that were dropped off at precincts and damaged ballots.

By Annelise Pierce, Shasta Scout, November 7, 2023

Excerpt:

By 8:15 a.m., poll workers at the Larry J. Farr Community Center in Shasta Lake said they’d had only four voters show up at their voting site, which includes two precincts. That’s not too surprising because today’s ballot for this area of the county affects only a small subset of the community. 

Registered voters in what is known as Area 2 of the Gateway Unified School District Board will decide whether to elect Casey Bowden or Camille King to fill the District Board’s vacant, and hotly contested, fifth seat.

Mary Axelson, precinct inspector at the Shasta Lake Community Center polling site, confirmed for Shasta Scout that the site has a single accessible Hart InterCivic voting machine, which is intended to serve the needs of those with disabilities but can be used by any voter upon request. No voters have requested to use it so far, she said.

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