Illustration of California flag and the pandemic. (Image: bekulnis)Gov. Gavin Newsom is expected to announce a tougher response to a surge in coronavirus infections that includes a three-week cutback on nonessential services and renewed stay-at-home restrictions affecting most Californians.
A pharmacy worker on the the job. (Photo: wavebreakmedia, via Shutterstock)OPINION: In 2018, legislators took positive initial steps to regulate some of the egregious business practices of pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) – little-known middlemen in the health care system who have contributed to rising costs. However, more must be done to ensure that Californians are able to access affordable treatment options such as receiving cost savings at point of sale at the pharmacy counter, for example.
Presidential contender Elizabeth Warren at a town hall meeting in San Diego. (Photo: Jeffrey Allan Photography, via Shutterstock)Capitol Weekly’s October Democratic primary tracking survey shows Elizabeth Warren continuing to storm the field with another 7-point gain, putting her at 35% and a healthy 14-points ahead of her nearest rival, Vice President Joe Biden. Biden has risen since September by 3-points despite the massive national controversy around Ukraine and President Trump’s accusations regarding his son.
A March 2016 rally in Los Angeles for Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders. (Photo: Joseph Sohm)History tells us that presidential-year new voters are likely to skip mid-term elections. Will the new voters of 2016 be any different? The answer to that question could have a profound impact on the 2018 elections.
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.
Voters and potential voters at a political rally. (Photo: Joseph Sohm, via Shutterstock)The California Voter File is a massive and constantly changing dataset. At the end of the 2012 election cycle, it grew to over 18 million voters. But with recent purges from county election files, it has dropped down to its current 17 million. As we near a major statewide election, we expect to see an uptick in registration and growth of the overall voter file. The state’s registration is likely — again — to exceed 18 million, and potentially even reach 19 million by November.