Spotlight on CVF

Should I vote in California primary? Why your midterm ballot matters in Sacramento County

By Hanh Truong, The Sacrament Bee, May 23, 2022

Excerpts:

It might not be a presidential year, but your vote in the California primary election can affect your daily life.

This year’s June primary in California includes candidates for U.S. Senate, governor, secretary of state, treasurer and influential Sacramento County offices, such as district attorney and sheriff.

In the past two years, people are becoming more aware of the great influence that local governments have over their lives, said Kim Alexander, president of the California Voter Foundation, a non-partisan and nonprofit group that works to improve voting processes. She cited the pandemic and how the county enforced mask mandates, and controversies with police activity and law enforcement interactions with the public.

- - - - - - - -

Choosing your local and state officials can have a big effect on your quality of life.

CVF President Kim Alexander on Capital Public Radio's Insight with Vicki Gonzalez

By May 17, 2022

CVF President Kim Alexander joined CapRadio's "Insight" host Vicki Gonzalez to introduce listeners to CVF's new California Online Voter Guide and help voters prepare to cast their ballots in the upcoming June 7, Primary Election. (Listen to interview here) 

President of California Voter Foundation discusses expanding the House

By Sonseeahray Tonsall, Anisca Miles, Fox 40, December 17, 2021

Redistricting is happening all across the country at all levels.

As the shape of representation is changing from coast to coast, researchers at the American Academy of Arts and Sciences are suggesting the number of people Americans send to the U.S. House of Representatives needs to increase. (full story)

 

California Voter Foundation discusses protecting election workers

By Anisca Miles, Sonseeahray Tonsall, Fox 40, October 29, 2021

Excerpt:

The process of American elections has been the gold standard around the world for decades.

America has farmed out its system to help emerging democracies stabilize their trips to the polls.

Last fall the shine on what was the gold standard became tarnished in many eyes worldwide as the results of the presidential election were challenged without evidence of wrongdoing, and those working the elections became targets.

This week, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla, formerly the secretary of state, pressed Congress to do more to protect election workers from harassment and threats.

California Voter Foundation Board of Directors Chairwoman Cathy Darling Allen joined Sonseeahray to discuss the harassment election workers face. (Full Story)

California has a secure voting system

By Kim Alexander and Micheal Alvarez, Sacramento Bee Opinion September 14, 2021

(online at https://www.sacbee.com/opinion/op-ed/article254235563.html, photo credit Lezlie Sterling, Sacramento Bee)

Sacramento Bee image of vote centerThere is a growing chorus claiming that California’s recall election is not secure.

Some claims come from people providing no evidence to back them up and no substantiation of fraud. Some come from people who question aspects of California’s election administration practices that they don’t understand (like the use of accessibility holes by some counties in ballot return envelopes to help guide low-vision voters to the signature box).

California Voter Foundation discusses recall election ballot, voter guide

By Anisca Miles, Sonseeahray Tonsall, Fox 40 News, August 24, 2021

 

California Voter Foundation president discusses voting rights

By Anisca Miles, Sonseeahray Tonsall, Fox 40, June 28, 2021

Excerpts:

President Joe Biden’s hopes to standardize some of what Americans can expect at the polls reached a hurdle when the Senate wouldn’t allow the For the People Act to be fully debated.

Audits of last fall’s federal election are ongoing and the torrent of other efforts to prove the legitimacy of the results have not subsided, even in the face of repeated court decisions to the contrary.

Kim Alexander, the founder and president of the California Voter Foundation, joined Sonseeahray to talk about the state of voting in the U.S. and the foundation’s recent study about the harassment of election officials

 

 

Documenting and Addressing Harassment of Election Officials

By Kim Alexander and Grace Gordon, electionline Weekly, June 10, 2021

Imagine if your job responsibilities caused strangers to call you and threaten you and your family with violence. Public servants performing one of the most crucial functions in our society—the administration of the vote—are being subjected to exactly that.

A new report released this week by the California Voter Foundation sheds light on the serious and dangerous problem of harassment faced by U.S. election officials.

“Documenting and Addressing Harassment of Election Officials” features findings from interviews with eleven election officials from six states and eight election experts from different sectors. The election officials were selected based on their experience with or perspective of harassment. Their identities are anonymous for their protection and privacy.

KQED Interview: Addressing Harassment of Election Officials report

By KQED News June 8, 2021

Hear Kim Alexander's interview with KQED's Natalia Navarro about the new CVF report documenting and addressing harassment of U.S. election officials resulting from the 2020 presidential election
(audio file) 

 

 

Interview: California Voter Foundation breaks down the ballot process, common mistakes of mail-in voting

By Sonseeahray Tonsall, Fox 40, November 6, 2020

Excerpts:

With election results in so some states still too close to call, voters may need no greater lesson to teach them that every single vote really does matter.
 
That’s the message Kim Alexander of the California Voter Foundation has been trying to convince people of for years, while working on our election systems to make clear votes possible.

“I’m really satisfied with the careful work that elections officials are conducting right now in counting the ballots,” Alexander told FOX40. “A number of the counties are allowing you to watch this process yourself on live webcams, so I think that gives a good degree of transparency.”
 
With mail-in ballots becoming a tide-turner in many battleground states, Alexander warned that votes can get thrown out because people forget to sign their ballots or their signature doesn’t match their registration. 

Pages