Spotlight on CVF

Make Your Vote Count: Understanding Voting in California

October 1, 2020

This non-partisan videos educates California voters on how to ensure their votes are counted, whether the ballots are submitted in person or by mail.

Our advisors will discuss topics such as:

• What happens to an election ballot
• How ballots are counted
• Dispel myths about the balloting process
• Lift the "curtain of mystery" surrounding election procedures

Our speakers are Kim Alexander, President of the nonpartisan California Voter Foundation, and Hon. Catharine B. Baker, former State Assemblywoman and Special Counsel to Hoge Fenton. {Full Video}

How Voting Works Now - A Voter Game Plan Event

KPCC/LAist October 1, 2020

Things are different and there are questions. We're answering them live. 

The next election is speeding toward us on a runaway train of rhetoric, doubt, and deterrents. 

We have some facts, instead.

Election Day is technically November 3, but early voting starts soon after October 5 when ballots begin shipping out to every active, registered voter in California. 

In L.A., we'll be voting on: the next president of the United States, the head of the largest prosecutor's office in the country, affirmative action, a possible rollback of California Proposition 13, and much more. 

Pressure is high. But it's 2020, so the intensity doesn't end there. The actual process of voting is also different.

You'll be doing it possibly by mail, or at a new vote center, in the time of a historic pandemic, in the midst of a fury over racial inequity and police brutality, while the Golden State burns in the orange glow of climate change. 

Philanthropy Now podcast:

By Produced by Silicon Valley Community Foundation, September 30, 2020

With the 2020 general election already underway in California and more than half the states in the country, Kim Alexander, President and Founder of the California Voter Foundation, and Rob Chua of the Filipino Bayanihan Resource Center join the podcast to inform listeners about how the voting process differs this year in comparison to previous elections. In a dialogue moderated by Jack Mahoney, SVCF's Civic Participation Program Officer, the episode focuses on what voters need to know for the upcoming election, including how to ensure mail-in ballots are counted, the leading casuses for ballot rejection and more.

In SVCF’s Philanthropy Now podcast series, we explore trends in the world of philanthropy, social impact initiatives in Silicon Valley and beyond, and we look at how SVCF promotes innovative philanthropic solutions to challenging problems.

California young voters far more likely to have mail ballots rejected, study finds

By John Wildermuth, San Francisco Chronicle September 23, 2020

Excerpt:

California’s youngest voters are three times more likely to have their mail ballots rejected than voters as a whole, a new study has found, highlighting a problem that could grow as more of those inexperienced voters turn out in November.

A study by the nonpartisan California Voter Foundation of three California counties — Sacramento, San Mateo and Santa Clara — found that in the November 2018 election, voters ages 18-24 made up the smallest number of mail voters of any age group, but had by far the highest number of rejections.

“With young and new voters the high rejection rate persists, even though the state has made a lot of changes to bring it down,” said Kim Alexander, the foundation’s president and author of the report.

Here's How To Register To Vote In California (And Why To Do It Early)

By Chris Nichols, Capital Public Radio, September 22, 2020

Excerpts:

Tuesday Sept. 22 is National Voter Registration Day, a nonpartisan effort that encourages Americans on the fourth Tuesday of September to get ready for the upcoming election. 

In a statement, California Secretary of State Alex Padilla described the day as “the perfect time to sign up” for the millions of Californians who have yet to register. 

All voters must be registered to participate in the November election, which starts in earnest in California in early October when mail-in ballots will be sent out to all active, registered votersin the state.  

In California, you can register, pre-register (if you are 16 or 17) or check your registration at registertovote.ca.gov. Teens who pre-register will receive a confirmation in the mail once they turn 18 stating their voter registration is now active.  

Young California Voters Had Mail-In Ballots Rejected At Three Times Overall Rate, Study Shows

By Chris Nichols, Capital Public Radio, September 18, 2020

Excerpts:

Every election, tens of thousands of California voters have their vote-by-mail ballots rejected, typically because they don’t arrive on time or lack a signature.

But in at least three California counties — Sacramento, Santa Clara and San Mateo — young voters had their vote-by-mail ballots disqualified at three times the overall rate, a new study shows. 

The study, Improving California’s Vote-by-Mail Process by Reducing Ballot Rejection: A Three-County Study, was conducted by the California Voter Foundation, which advocates for improving the election process.

Why younger voters are the most likely to have their absentee ballots rejected

By Steven Rosenfeld, AlterNet, September 17, 2020

Excerpts:

As half or more of the 2020 presidential election’s votes will be cast on mailed-out ballots, a new study on why absentee ballots were rejected in three urban California counties in 2018 reveals why young voters’ ballots were rejected at triple the rate of all voters.

Nationally, it is well known that absentee ballots arriving after state deadlines, problems with a voter’s signature on the return envelope not matching their voter registration form, or a missing signature account for more than half of all rejected ballots, as the latest federal statistics affirm. But a new California Voter Foundation (CVF) study reveals the most likely causes behind those errors, especially for young voters.

Counting votes

By Foon Rhee, Sacramento News & Review, September 17, 2020

Exerptts:

California is notoriously slow counting all the ballots and calling final election results. This November will likely take even more time with a record avalanche of mail ballots expected during the COVID-19 pandemic.

While it’s still seven weeks until Election Day, that’s the message officials are already trying to get out in hopes of avoiding confusion and concern among voters.

Study Finds Young Voters More Likely to Have Mail Ballots Rejected

By Guy Marzorati, KQED, September 14, 2020

Excerpts:

Young voters are more likely to have their mail ballots rejected than older voters, according to a study out Monday examining voting in Sacramento, San Mateo and Santa Clara counties in the 2018 general election.

The research published by the nonpartisan California Voter Foundation highlights one of the greatest challenges for California's shift towards expanded vote-by-mail this election: the number of ballots that are returned, but not counted because they were mailed too late or lacked an accurate voter signature.

"One of the big changes of vote-by-mail is it shifts the responsibility for getting it right when we vote from the poll worker to the voter," said Kim Alexander, president of the California Voter Foundation.

How To Vote This November

Hosted by Mina KIm, KQED Forum, August 27, 2020

With the 2020 election just over two months away, it’s time to start thinking about the logistics of voting. To make voting easier and safer during the pandemic, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill back in May to mail every active registered voter a ballot. But many voters have concerns, such as questions about signature requirements and how to cast a ballot if you’re experiencing homelessness or displacement and don’t have a mailing address. These issues are compounded by the pressure put on the already-struggling U.S. Postal Service to handle an expected record number of mail-in ballots. We’ll answer your questions on how to vote this November.

Guest:  Kim Alexander, president and founder, California Voter Foundation
(Full Audio)

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