CVF in the News

How California’s early primary illustrates the state’s political inferiority complex

By Melanie Mason, Los Angeles Times, March 3, 2019

Excerpt:

California loves to talk about itself in superlatives: The nation’s most populous state. The fifth-largest economy in the world. Producer of tech titans and Hollywood blockbusters and a whole lot of fruits and veggies.

But even as it basks in its outsize economic and cultural influence, something has been gnawing at the state’s psyche. When it comes to presidential politics, we’re more backbencher than behemoth.

The moving of California’s 2020 presidential primary to March 3 — nipping at the heels of the four traditional early nominating states of Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina — is the latest bid to play with the calendar in hopes of gaining more electoral relevance. This will be the fifth time since 1992 the state has moved its presidential primary. It's bounced around: June, March, February and back again.

Read More

In Closely Watched Central Valley Congressional Elections, Some Voters Were Misled at Polls

By Alexandra Hall, KQED's California Report, December 10, 2018

Excerpt:

In two fiercely contested Central Valley congressional races in November, where long-serving Republican incumbents Jeff Denham and David Valadao both ended up losing their seats by thin margins to their Democratic challengers, some voters were confused and misinformed at the polls.

Modesto attorney Lisa Battista, who coordinated a group of volunteer election observers, said polling places in Stanislaus County ran out of pink envelopes used to separate provisional ballots on election night.

And then confusion set in.

“The poll workers didn’t know what to do,” Battista said. “They turned a lot of people away and told them: 'I'm sorry you can't vote here. You have to go find another polling place.'”

In response, Battista said she made an emergency request to keep polls open past 8 pm, but a judge turned it down.

Read More

California’s vote count takes a very long time. It’s set up that way

By John Wildermuth, San Francisco Chronicle, November 9, 2018

Excerpt:

As state election officials watch an angry President Trump and other partisan leaders slam what they claim are slow vote counts, political influence and delayed results in Florida, Georgia and Arizona elections, they have one thought: That could be California.

Days after Tuesday’s election, a handful of closely watched congressional races in California still haven’t been decided and a final count is days and possibly weeks away.

----

The first problem is a simple one: California is a really big state with a lot of people who vote.

By the time all the state’s precincts had reported on election night, about 7.4 million votes had been counted. But by Friday, there were still more than 4.8 million late-arriving and provisional ballots to be tallied.

Read More

"We Voted, Now What?"

"Policy and a Pint" Podcast

By California Groundbreakers November 8, 2018

On November 8th, two days after the November General Election, CVF president Kim Alexander participated in a candid post-election discussion hosted by California Groundbreakers at Ruhstaller Brewing in downtown Sacramento. A podcast of the event is available online. 

 

 

 

Read More

Why Bay Area counties still have so many votes to count

By Annie Sciacca, Bay Area News Group, November 7, 2018

Excerpt:

Almost a full day after polls closed, counties across the Bay Area still had hundreds of thousands of ballots to count — almost half of the number cast in a couple of cases.

And that’s to be expected as more and more California voters turn to mail-in ballots, which take longer to count, elections staff and experts say.

“This is the new normal,” said Kim Alexander, president of the California Voter Foundation. “We vote for a month and count ballots for a month in California.”

What’s also lengthened the tallying time is a state law that went into effect in 2015, which allows vote-by-mail ballots postmarked by Election Day and received up to three days later to be counted. Such ballots previously had to be received by Election Day.

As a result, many of the ballots sent close to Election Day don’t get into the hands of counters until later.

Read More

Polling Stations Brace for Record Number of Registered Voters

CVF's Kim Alexander answers listeners' Election Day questions

Interview with Michael Krasny, KQED's "Forum" program, November 6, 2018

Nearly 20 million Californians are registered to vote in Tuesday's election. That's more than 78 percent of eligible voters and it's the highest number of registered voters ever in the state. Forum takes your voter registration and Election Day questions and we'll check in on how smoothly the voting process is going in the Bay Area. (31 minute audio program)

Read More

If the House comes down to California, get ready to wait

California's voting rules could mean key races don't get decided for days — or weeks.

By Kevin Yamamura, Politico, November 5, 2018

Excerpt:  

SACRAMENTO — An election night blue wave Tuesday could slow down considerably by the time it reaches the California coast, making the rest of America wait to see who will control the House in 2019.

Forget staying up all night to find out who won congressional seats here: Strategists and campaign experts say it could take days — if not weeks — to determine victors in a series of tight and closely watched midterm races in Southern California.

The potential long wait is the product of generous provisions for California voters backed by the state's governing Democratic majority, and the continued abandonment of polling places in favor of mail-in ballots, which require more time to count and verify.

----

Read More

5 common mistakes Californians make while voting

Election Eve interview on KCRA TV

By Edie Lambert & KCRA News Staff, KCRA Television, November 5, 2018

Excerpt:

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (KCRA) —

Election Day is here. And, California voters may be making some mistakes that could disqualify their ballot.

Voters were asked to check their voter registration status and their polling sites before Tuesday so they don’t run into problems Election Day.

Kim Alexander, president of the California Voters Foundation, breaks down 5 common mistakes people make when voting:

1) Forgetting to Sign Mail-In-Ballot Envelope

The biggest mistake voters make with their mail-in ballots is they forget to sign and date the envelopes. 

If the mail-in ballot envelope is not signed and dated, the ballot cannot be validated.

2) Signature is Mismatched

Read More

Facebook Live Voting Q&A with KCRA News

By KCRA TV News, Sacramento, CA, November 5, 2018

Kim Alexander on Facebook LiveOn Election Eve, CVF President Kim Alexander joined KCRA TV News anchor Gulstan Dart on Facebook Live to answer last-minute voting questions. (Video) 

 

 

 

Read More

How California is expanding voter access to elections

16-year-olds can pre-register. Free postage comes next. California is all in on voter access

By Alexei Koseff, Sacramento Bee/McClathy News, November 1, 2018

Excerpt:

In California, you can register to vote online. You can request a mail ballot without providing a reason. If your ballot is postmarked by Election Day, it can arrive up to three days late and still count. Starting next year, you won’t even need a stamp.

As states across the country have moved aggressively to crack down on alleged voter fraud, California has shifted rapidly in the other direction, passing landmark legislation intended to make it easier to vote and to count as many ballots as possible.

The change has been propelled by voting rights advocates, seeking to fix unintended consequences as a growing majority of Californians vote by mail, and by Democratic politicians hoping to spike plummeting turnout. Many of the new laws aim to boost participation among infrequent voters, such as young people, that generally favor Democrats.

----

Read More

Pages