CVF-News

CVF-News is a free, electronic newsletter featuring news and updates about the California Voter Foundation's projects and activities.


November 8, 2024

Hi Folks,

Many California congressional and legislative races remain too close to call. CVF's new Close Count Transparency Project launched earlier this week and we are tracking eleven congressional races, the outcome of which will help decide which party controls the House of Representatives next year. Six close legislative races have been added to the CVF tracker as well. Since Wednesday, some margins narrowed, some widened, and another congressional race, CD 40, was called by the Associated Press. 

November 6, 2024

While the Presidential Election has already been decided, there are many contests in California that are still too close to call. CVF's new Close Count Transparency Project launched last night and we are tracking eleven congressional races, the outcome of which will help decide which party controls the House of Representatives next year. Additional close legislative races are being added to the CVF tracker.

Please see CVF's Close Count Report #1, summarizing election night and morning after election results. The story so far is that while several Democratic candidates in contested districts were doing well on Election Night, the numbers changed overnight as more ballots were processed and by morning Republican candidates were overall doing better than the Democrats.

November 4, 2024

Hi Folks,

Well it is finally here, Election Day! Tomorrow everyone who is going to vote and hasn't done so already will cast ballots across California and the nation. This edition of CVF-News shares last-minute voting tips, a reminder about Election Hero Day, a new election song, and where to find election results starting Tuesday night.

This has been a challenging election for all the people involved in election administration - Secretaries of State across the country, county election officials, their staff, temporary workers and poll workers, many who have been subjected to ongoing criticism and distrust for years now since the 2020 election. As CalMatters recently reported, half of Shasta County's elections staff has left their jobs due to the harsh scrutiny of election observers questioning their integrity. 

Tracking results in contests “too close to call”

November 1, 2024

To help the public monitor results in California’s close elections, the California Voter Foundation (CVF) is launching the Close Count Transparency Project, online at www.calvoter.org/closecount.

Beginning November 5th and continuing until the county certification deadline on December 5th, CVF will provide daily updates on the status of vote counts in California’s most competitive political districts, providing a timely and trustworthy source of vital election information.

“The process of verifying and counting California ballots takes longer today than it used to, largely due to the expanded use of vote-by-mail balloting,” said CVF President Kim Alexander, the project’s director, noting that since 2020, all registered voters automatically receive a vote-by-mail ballot.  “In close contests, determining winners can take days or even weeks. CVF’s Close Count Transparency Project will give the public, media, and campaigns a clearer picture, day-by-day, of how many ballots have been counted, how many ballots remain to be counted, and the margin of difference between the two candidates.”

The project will incorporate data from unofficial election results posted on state and local election agency websites and will initially track seven California congressional contests widely viewed as the state’s most competitive. The outcome of these contests will help decide whether Democrats or Republicans control the U.S. House of Representatives after the election. 

In 2022, CVF launched a pilot project tracking results in the same seven congressional districts. Three (CD 13, CD 22 and CD 41) feature a rematch this year of the same 2022 candidates. The 2022 tracking sheet is also available to view and shows how CD 13’s margin was incredibly close throughout the 2022 count, ranging from 0.1 to 0.7 percent, and was ultimately decided more than three weeks after Election Day by less than 600 votes.

October 9, 2024

Nonpartisan guide helps California voters prepare for the Nov. 5th election at www.calvoter.org
 

With ballots on the way to voters' mailboxes this week, the California Voter Foundation (CVF) announced today its new, nonpartisan California Online Voter Guide to help voters access reliable and trustworthy information about the November 5th, 2024 General Election, at www.calvoter.org.

"Voters have important decisions to make up and down the ballot," said Kim Alexander, CVF's president and founder. "Our online guide will help voters access nonpartisan information from reliable sources they can trust." The Sacramento-based nonprofit has produced a voter guide for every California election since 1994, with the new guide being the 34th edition published over thirty years. 

July 25, 2024

(Sacramento, California) –- Americans looking for ways to help serve their community and democracy can make a difference by signing up to be a poll worker this election.

help your neighbors voteAugust 1 is National Poll Worker Recruitment Day and the California Voter Foundation, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization working to improve the voting process, is encouraging people of all ages to step up and help out.

The U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) began this initiative in 2020 and provides a web site, www.helpamericavote.gov, connecting potential poll workers directly with their local election office where they can sign up and also learn more about the time commitment, requirements and pay.

By Kim Alexander, May 2, 2024

Please support CVF and voters on Big Day of Giving!

Dear Friends,

For thirty years, the California Voter Foundation has supported voters and elections by promoting and providing public access to reliable election information and working to secure the election process so people can vote with confidence.

We rely on support from individuals like you and are joining in the Sacramento region's Big Day of Giving today to ask you to help fund this important work.

By Kim Alexander, April 30, 2024

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
 

By Kim Alexander, March 4, 2024

Hi Folks,

Tomorrow is "Super Tuesday" when more than a dozen states, including California, will hold Primary elections. A few million Californians have already voted, and a few million more will turn in ballots tomorrow or opt to vote in person at a polling place or vote center.

Here are some quick last-minute tips and pieces of information to help you with this election.

January 19, 2024

Nonpartisan guide helps California voters prepare for March 5th Primary
online at www.calvoter.org

Today the California Voter Foundation (CVF) launched a new edition of its nonpartisan California Online Voter Guide to help voters access reliable and trustworthy information about the March 5, 2024 Presidential Primary Election, at www.calvoter.org.

“This is the first California Presidential Primary Election where every registered California voter will be issued a ballot through the mail,” said CVF’s president and founder, Kim Alexander.

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