News

Californians Take to the Polls on Super Tuesday

Excerpts:

For the first time since passing a 2017 law moving California's primary election date from June to March, the state's nearly 20 million registered voters are able to cast their ballots on Super Tuesday. California is one of 20 states allowing same-day voter registration where citizens can cast a provisional ballot. We'll take your voter registration and Election Day questions and we'll check in on how smoothly the voting process is going in the Bay Area.

Kim Alexander with California Voter Foundation

Kim Alexander is president of the California Voter Foundation (CVF), a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization she re-founded in 1994 and dedicated to improving the voting process to better serve voters, online at www.calvoter.org. CVF is a longtime leader in advancing the responsible use of technology in the democratic process, by pioneering online voter education, online campaign finance disclosure, and voter-verified paper ballot records and auditing requirements for computerized voting systems.

Janz Calls for Extra Hour to Vote After Problems at Polls

Excerpt:

Fresno mayoral candidate Andrew Janz called for Fresno County to extend the time that polls close to 9 p.m. because of voting problems Tuesday morning.

County election clerk Brandi Orth said that polling centers experienced “intermittent connection problems.”

Those computers connected the voting centers to the main county election headquarters and to the Secretary of State’s office.

State officials said that there were glitches in 15 California counties with voting centers.

'Zombie votes': what happens to early ballots cast for Democratic dropouts?

Excerpts:

The sudden retreat of Amy Klobuchar, Pete Buttigieg and Tom Steyer ahead of Super Tuesday has left many Californians who voted early grappling with loss – and regret.

“I was heartbroken,” said Andrea McNew, 44, who had been volunteering for the Buttigieg campaign in San Diego, California. “But I know it’s a tough road to the presidency,” she added. “So we’re working through it”.

Ten Things to Know about the California Presidential Primary

1. Of California’s 25.3 million eligible voters, 20.7 million, or 82 percent are registered as of February 18. This is this highest rate of registration heading into a California presidential primary in the past 68 years, according to California’s Secretary of State Alex Padilla. California’s Presidential Primary, which was held in June in 2012 and 2016, is taking place this year on March 3, Super Tuesday, in an effort to give California voters a greater say in deciding who the presidential candidates will be. 

2. For the first time, Californians can register at any voting site and vote on Election Day. Under SB 72, enacted in 2019, Californians can conditionally register and cast a conditional ballot at polling places if they have never been registered. Another law enacted just last month, SB 207, allows Californians who are registered but have moved within their county or wish to update their party preference to complete and sign a short form and cast a regular ballot. These reforms help voters who need to change their party preference so they can vote for the Presidential candidate of their choice, but may result in long lines at some voting sites on Election Day.

Goodbye Polling Place, Hello Vote Center

Excerpts:

More counties in California are moving away from neighborhood polling precincts during the March 3 primary in favor of vote centers, an expanding election model designed to boost voter participation. 

Though fewer in number than traditional polling locations, vote centers are open up to 10 days before the election and allow anyone registered in their county to vote in-person or drop off a mail-in ballot. 

Pages