Kamala Harris and Donald Trump, image from Associated PressThere is likely nothing more confusing to voters than the avalanche of polls that spill forth every election year. With what many consider to be America’s most crucial election in generations just days away, this lengthy piece from pollster and election data analyst Paul Mitchell is a valuable guide to understanding how polls are conducted and presented to you, the voters.
A potential voter fills out a voter registration form. (Photo: Rawpixel, com, via Shutterstock)California has now reached an historic high of over 21 million registered voters. The current PDI voter file, after a full refresh of county files, puts total voter registration at 21,086,077. As a share of eligible voters, this puts the state at 83%, a higher rate of registration than we have seen since the presidential election of 1940.
A sign designating a polling place during the 2016 election in Ventura County. (Photo: Joseph Sohm, via Shutterstock)ANALYSIS: Last week the Sacramento Bee ran a story of voter registration and how the type of registration, and timing of it, can provide a hint as to whether a voter will participate in an upcoming election. And, if a voter does turn out, whether it will be a one-time exercise, or whether that voter will be a more permanent voter.
A photo illustration of human DNA. (Photo: Shutterstock)Plans to ask California voters in 2018 to approve a $5 billion bond issue to finance the California stem cell agency have been shelved, a director of the agency said Thursday. Jeff Sheehy, a San Francisco county supervisor, said that the key backer of the proposal had informed him that no bond measure would be offered to voters before 2020, presumably at the presidential general election.