California Voter Foundation

Sacramento, Calif. – Legislation to address the rise in harassment towards election workers was signed into law yesterday by California Governor Gavin Newsom. 

Senate Bill 1131, authored by Senator Josh Newman (D-Fullerton) and co-sponsored by the California Voter Foundation and Brennan Center for Justice, protects California election workers by providing them with the option to keep their home addresses confidential. The bill includes an urgency clause and goes into effect immediately.

“Threats to democracy is the number one issue on the minds of U.S. voters right now,” said Kim Alexander, President of the California Voter Foundation (CVF), citing results from NBC News’ August and September public opinion polls. “SB 1131 gives democracy’s frontline workers the ability to protect themselves and their families from harm.” 

Hi Folks,

With the Legislature's last day of session happening today (and the wee hours of tomorrow morning as well) this edition of CVF-News highlights CVF's legislative activities and last month's Future of California Elections conference, where CVF hosted a panel on addressing voting challenges for housing-insecure Californians.

We have also been keeping busy working on addressing threats to election officials and their staff. To help those working to promote peace and security in U.S. elections, CVF has begun tracking stories via our Protecting Election Officials in the News page and have added a Resources for Supporting Election Officials section to our web site highlighting initiatives and tools being provided by caring folks across all sectors.

A few of my favorites are Pam Fessler's Telling our Story via the Elections Group, the Carter Center's Taking Care of Yourself to Serve Others wellness guide, the new Committee for Safe and Secure Elections chaired by former Orange County Registrar Neal Kelley, the Election Infrastructure Initiative to provide federal funding support to local and state election offices, De-Escalation Tools from Princeton's Bridging Divides Initiative, and Building a Resiliency Network from Over Zero.

We are also very close to getting SB 1131/Newman out of the legislature and on to Gov. Newsom's desk. This bill if enacted into law will immediately allow election workers and other California public employees to enroll in Safe at Home to keep their personal information private. More about that below, as well as some reflections and photos from last month's Future of California Elections conference, 

I had a wonderful time introducing our new staffer Samantha Abelove to all of CVF's colleagues and friends and spending time with folks in person again. It was a great reminder of the strong community of democracy advocates we have in this state and nation and gives me hope in these challenging times.

-- Kim Alexander, President & Founder, California Voter Foundation

CVF at Future of California Elections Conference in Burbank, July 25, 2022 - L-R: Program Manager Samantha Abelove, Board Chair Cathy Darling Allen, President Kim Alexander, Board Member Mindy Romero, and Vice Chair Susan Roth.

Hi Folks,

Happy Election Eve! This edition of CVF-News provides some last-minute tips for voting in the June 7th California Primary Election. I am also thrilled to introduce CVF's new Program Manager, Samantha Abelove, who starts her new position with CVF today! 

-- Kim Alexander, President & Founder

California Voter Foundation

Tuesday is the final day to vote in the California June 7th Primary and many are wondering the same thing - where the heck did I put that vote-by-mail ballot I received?

Hi Folks,

This week we are celebrating Big Day of Giving along with hundreds of other nonprofits in the Sacramento region! I hope you will join in by donating to the California Voter Foundation and supporting our work improving the voting process to better serve voters through Big Day of Giving, via PayPal or by check. 

Here’s a quick look at CVF’s current programs:

• Supporting and Defending Election Officials and Election Administration

Election officials in California and across the country are facing an increasingly hostile and threatening public. The number of threats and amount of harassment election officials and their staff are enduring is unprecedented. CVF exposed this crisis in its landmark 2021 report, Documenting and Addressing Harassment of Election Officials. In response, CVF has formed a nationwide network of leaders across a number of sectors to defend and build a community of support for election officials and election administration.