CVF in the News

By CapRadio Staff, CapRadio, October 10, 2022

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Who Can Register To Vote In California? 

California residents over the age of 18 can visit the California State online voter registration page. There are options for registering to vote in Spanish, Korean, Thai, Vietnamese and more. Voters can also register in person at their county elections office or pick up a paper registration from your local library, DMV office, or U.S. Post Office. Residents aged 16 and 17 can pre-register to vote; once they turn 18, they can cast a ballot. 

What Do I Need To Register?

By Sameea Kamal, CAL Matters, October 10, 2022

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You’re hearing a lot more about election integrity — for a lot of reasons.

Since the 2020 election, the issue has been fueled by the “Big Lie” — the baseless claim still touted by former President Donald Trump and his allies that the election was stolen — and the Jan. 6 storming of the U.S. Capitol and its aftermath.

Questioning election integrity has also become a political strategy: In the effort last year to recall Gov. Gavin Newsom, Republican candidate Larry Elder said he was concerned about fraud and started a website to collect tips even before the votes were counted. 

Under the new law, election workers can have their home addresses kept confidential.

By Monica Coleman, ABC 10, October 8, 2022

By Carly Severn & Guy Marzorati, KQED, October 7, 2022

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If you update your voter registration and address using the secretary of state's voter status page before the October 24 deadline to register online, you county will cancel the ballot that went to your old address and send you a new one.

And if it turns out your ballot was missing because your voter registration wasn't updated, don't feel bad — people move all the time and forget to update their registrations accordingly.

The California Voter Foundation's Kim Alexander confirms that updating your address at the post office doesn't in fact update your voter registration. The DMV, on the other hand, will update your voter registration details if you update your address with them.

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By Daniela Pardo and Jackson Ellison, Spectrum News 1, October 4, 2022

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Election workers experienced a rise in threats and harassment in the fallout from the false claims about the 2020 Presidential Election being stolen from former President Donald Trump.

Two years later, election workers across the country have dealt with all forms of intimidation tactics that make them feel unsafe and unable to do their jobs.

A new California law, Senate Bill 1131, authored by state Senator Josh Newman, D-Fullerton, allows election workers and other government employees to enroll in programs to keep their addresses and other personal information confidential.

Election officials can now enroll in the Safe at Home program that’s currently used by domestic violence survivors and people who work at abortion clinics.

By Ari Plachta, Sacramento Bee, October 3, 2022

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In 2018, community organizer Chris Lodgson helped promote the voting changes coming to Sacramento’s historically Black Oak Park neighborhood.

Polling places at churches and schools were on the way out. But the new options were going to be good: automatically mailed ballots, more days to vote, drop boxes. Ahead of this year’s midterms, 28 California counties have made the same changes.

By Orko Manna, KCRA, September 27, 2022

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While California voters are about six weeks away from the Midterm Elections, voter and poll worker protections are top of mind in Shasta County as officials warn residents about possible voter intimidation. 

Shasta County Clerk and Registrar of Voters Cathy Darling Allen sent a notice out Monday to inform the public about potential voter intimidation occurring in the county.

“Reports have been received by the department that there are people contacting voters at their homes and questioning their voter registration status,” the news release stated.

The note also explained that this activity violates California law and that local law enforcement has been notified.

By Sonseeahray Tonsall, KTXL, July 27, 2022

By Jasper Goodman, Los Angeles Times, June 22, 2022

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In the hours after polls closed in the closely watched California primary on June 7, reviews from pundits were quick to come in.

Turnout: abysmal. Progressive reforms: rejected. Ex-RepublicanRick Caruso: the surprise star of the night in liberal Los Angeles.

But with the proliferation of mail-in voting, messages from California voters now arrive with a lag — one that hasn’t proven friendly to the quick takes of social media and cable news.

“We used to have a single election day, and often have decisive results for most contests on election night,” said Kim Alexander, president of the nonpartisan California Voter Foundation. “Now, we have election month, and a month of vote counting.”

By Ryan Carter, Los Angeles Daily News, June 13, 2022

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The June 7 primary in Los Angeles County cost $82.2 million, requiring 12,000 election workers to administer an election in which 597 total candidates were seeking 155 offices with voting taking place by mail at more than 600 vote centers. All this in a county of 5.6 million registered voters.

But there was one missing ingredient — or at least not enough of it, based on the early numbers —  in this simmering recipe of democracy: Voters.

Just more than 1 in 5 voters cast ballots in L.A. County, according to Tuesday stats rom the L.A. County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk. And the turnout statewide, was at 26%.

Time to throw in the towel on the open primary?

No, says the system’s chief co-designer Steve Peace, the former San Diego-County assemblyman who designed California’s top-two primary, governing state and congressional elections.

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