A street sign for voters. (Photo by Gustavo Frazao, via Shutterstock)It hasn’t attracted as much attention as some of the gaudier ideas on the November ballot, such as mandatory condoms in X-rated movies, but Californians will have one measure to decide on the June 7 primary ballot. The lone proposal is Proposition 50, which would allow legislators to eliminate pay and benefits for fellow members arrested or convicted of a felony.
Presidential candidates. (Illustration by Tim Foster, Capitol Weekly)CA120: With just hours until polls close in California, the crucial Democratic presidential contest between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders appears to be tightening. On the Republican side, the unopposed presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump is trying to show that he can consolidate the Republican electorate behind his candidacy.
CA120: Even with 34 U.S. Senate candidates on the ballot, an exit poll of absentee voters shows that Kamala Harris is lapping the field. Slightly more than half report having voted for Harris, more than three times the level of support for her closest rival in Tuesday’s top-two primary, fellow Democrat Loretta Sanchez. Republicans would need a strong late consolidation of support behind Duf Sundheim to have any hope of preventing an all-Democratic general election.
A California ballot box. (Photo illustration, Hafakot, via Shutterstock)The growth in voter registration in the past five months has been record-breaking. With some counties still completing their 15-day close of registration, we have surpassed all prior registration records with more than 2.3 million voters registering for the first time or updating their registration. This despite some high rates of counties purging deadwood from the files and making “inactive” large numbers of voters who have not participated in past elections.
Downtown Davis, population center of the 3rd Senate District. (Photo: Miles530, via Wikipedia)In California’s 3rd Senate District, two colors stand out: blue and green. Blue for water, green for money. The water, because SD3’s southern portion includes a piece of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. The money, because in addition to conventional campaign donations, large sums from outside independent expenditure committees are fueling the race.
A rally for Democratic presidential contender Bernie Sanders in Irvine, May 22. (Photo: mikeledray, via Shutterstock)At long last, we were to be The Deciders. After more than 50 years, Californians were going to pick the Republican nominee for president! Ted Cruz was vowing to make his last stand against Donald Trump right here, with his back against the Pacific! San Francisco Republicans would become objects of desire instead of an endangered species!
A portion of California's June 7 ballot. (Photo: Tim Foster/Capitol Weekly)When nonpartisan voters were asked how, exactly, they were going to get a Democratic ballot, we saw evidence of widespread confusion. Nearly 60% of those surveyed either incorrectly thought that the Democratic candidates would be on their ballot — as happens in other open primary contests — or they weren’t sure how to vote in the Democratic presidential race.
Capitol Weekly and the CA120 series have been exploring the use of original polling to review the presidential race and the U.S. Senate contest. We are providing data-driven stories on how California voters are engaging with the election.
PPIC: Californians have deeply mixed views about the major political parties, with fewer than one in four viewing the GOP favorably and about half giving Democrats a thumbs up, according to the latest survey by the Public Policy Institute of California. About 49 percent of all adults reported a favorable impression of the Democratic party, while only 23 percent have a favorable view of the Republicans, down about 7 points since December.
Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton at a presidential candidates debate. (Photo: Joseph Sohm, Shutterstock.)Democratic presidential contenders Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders plan on spending about $2 million combined on TV ads in California as their primary election campaigns hit the final stretch. Clinton began her effort Thursday, with about $940,000 committed so far in those three communities. Sanders began the day before.