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.

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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. 

Sacramento, CA -- A growing percentage of California voters will cast vote-by-mail ballots in the state’s March 3 Presidential Primary, but not all of those ballots will get counted.

“While casting a vote-by-mail ballot is a popular option, it’s not without its challenges,” said California Voter Foundation (CVF) President Kim Alexander, whose organization works to improve the vote-by-mail process through research and legislative reforms. 

In 2018, one out of every 100 vote-by-mail ballots cast got rejected according to data published by the Secretary of State. Mail ballots are rejected primarily for three reasons - arriving too late, or the voter forgetting to sign their ballot envelope, or the signature not sufficiently matching the voter’s signature on file.

How are young people looking at the 2020 primaries and the general election? What motivates young voters to cast a vote?

These are the questions organizations all over the country are asking in doing outreach, specifically to young voters. Their focus is also on pre-registering young people to vote, as long as they will be 18 by Nov. 3. What strategies and tactics are these organizations using? Are they different in California?

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