Voting Rights

A joint effort between California Secretary of State Alex Padilla and the Department of Motor Vehicles managed to get 250,000 new registered voters on the rolls between April and June, according to the government watchdog group Common Cause.

California Common Cause continued its Election Protection program in the June 2018 primary election. In this effort, we also observed the launch of the Voter's Choice Act in 3 counties (San Mateo, Sacramento, and Napa) while monitoring pollworker conduct and general election administration practices. Based on our observations, we developed this report to highlight some best practices and recommendations to address common issues we observed.

A 2016 report by California Common Cause, a democracy advocacy organization, found that 59 of California's 482 cities hold district elections. Twenty-eight of those cities made the switch between 2011 and 2016.

The California Voter's Choice Act (VCA) was co-sponsored by Senator Allen and Senator Hertzberg to make voting more convenient and accessible in participating counties. For questions, contact Kiyana Asemanfar, Policy Outreach Coordinator.

The nonpartisan Election Protection coalition was formed to ensure that all voters have an equal opportunity to participate in the political process. Election Protection is the nation’s largest non-partisan voter protection coalition. Through the 1-866-OUR-VOTE hotline (administered by the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law), the 1-888-Ve-Y-Vota hotline (administered by the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials Education Fund), and a comprehensive legal field deployment, Election Protection helps ensure eligible voters are able to participate in our democracy. For questions, contact Sylvia Moore, Southern California Organizer.

California Motor Voter automatically registers all eligible Californians who complete a driver’s license, identification card (ID), or change of address transaction online, by mail, or in person, unless they opt out. The program streamlines the voter registration process at the DMV and makes registering to vote more convenient for Californians. For questions, contact Kiyana Asemanfar, Policy Outreach Coordinator.