Image by lightspringANALYSIS – Asians and Latinos in California are the two fastest growing Ethnic populations on the voter file. But they appear, politically, to be headed in slightly different directions.
A map illustration of some cities, counties in California. (Photo: Kent Weakley, via Shutterstock)“Why is this so hard?” That’s what Matt Rexroad, owner of Redistricting Insights, tweeted repeatedly when he saw news that downtown Sacramento City Councilmember Katie Valenzuela faced a recall from residents of the uptown neighborhoods in East Sacramento. The problem: It wouldn’t be a legal recall. But confusion over that fact seemed to drag on for weeks.
Voters in their booths casting ballots in a Los Angeles election. (Photo: Joseph Sohm, via Shutterstock)One constant in California elections is change. In the past 20 years, we’ve seen changes to when the primary is held, then changed back, then back again. We’ve seen an open primary, then another version of the open primary. We shook up the Legislature with term limits, then imposed different term limits. We have moved increasingly to vote by mail, shifting the timeline of our elections.
A California school bus powered by propane. (Photo: SchoolBusFleet.com)In the last decade, numerous California school districts have adopted propane-based school buses in an attempt to eliminate costs and toxic emissions. Since 2013, the Elk Grove Unified School District near Sacramento has added 16 propane buses to its fleet and expects up to 12 more in the next month.
A vintage blackboard in a charter school. (Photo: Greg and Jan Ritchie, via Shutterstock) California’s charter schools could face tighter restrictions if a pair of bills making their way through the Legislature is approved. One would give school districts the right to deny charter schools if they believe they would negatively impact neighborhood schools’ finances, academics or facilities. The other would prohibit school districts from approving a charter school outside their boundaries.
Gov. Gavin Newsom addresses a January ADEM gathering in San Francisco. (Photo: California Democratic Party, via Bay City Beacon)Few Californians are familiar with the state Democratic Party’s Assembly District Election Meetings, known as ADEMs. Even fewer – under 40,000 – vote in them. But as Democrats in 2019 wield nearly absolute power in state policy, the ADEMs – grassroots, internal elections held every two years designed to connect party insiders with the base – are gaining attention as a battleground between the party’s progressive and moderate blocs.
A view of the House of Representatives, with members and their visiting families. (Photo: Mark Reinstein)A number of California’s Republican-held House seats face fierce challenges from Democrats, and the tally of votes in these tight races may not be completed for days, even weeks, following the election. That’s the message in Capitol Weekly’s survey of more than 20,000 mail-in voters across California who cast their ballots prior to election day.
Students at Alliance Susan & Eric Smidt Technology High School, Los Angeles. (School photo)OPINION: College application season is upon us. This fall, I will begin my senior year of high school at Alliance Susan & Eric Smidt Technology High School and submit my application to my first-choice school, the California Institute of Technology, to study engineering. I’m excited to make my college dreams come true, after four years of hard work.
A political rally in southern California during the 2016 election cycle. (Photo: Joseph Sohm)With the close of the 2018 primary election cycle, we get another chance to see how campaigns have evolved under California’s top-two open primary system. The most noteworthy change appears to be the manner by which campaigns are extending their reach across the partisan aisle. But they are not doing it in the way that the authors of the Top Two Candidates Open Primary Act, which took effect in 2011, intended.
Attendees at a 2016 political rally in Santa Monica. (Photo: Joseph Sohm)The 2018 primary election is right around the corner. And with stories of higher turnout and a Democratic wave in states like Virginia and Alabama, many political consultants and observers are expecting to see some higher turnout in California this June, with a potentially strong Democratic and Latino surge.