Resources

The report, “Golden State Democracy: How California Expanded Voter Access During a Pandemic” shares the story of how California prepared for the 2020 general election in the midst of the pandemic. The report also shares the top election issues that took place in the last cycle. California Common Cause had over 500 volunteer poll monitors observe the voting process at over 1,200 locations in the general election in 5 Southern California counties. “Golden State Democracy” shares key observations from our poll monitors, including areas of strength and areas for improvement in our elections moving forward.

The report, “Reaching Low-Propensity Voters in California’s November 2020 Elections” examines voters’ awareness of voting options, voting option preferences, and reactions to existing voter messaging materials. The focus groups included low-propensity and first-time voters from Spanish, Tagalog, Mandarin, Vietnamese, Korean, and Hmong language communities, and English-speaking youth, including many first-generation voters. Participants ranged in age and represented most major metropolitan areas across California, with greatest concentrations in the Bay Area, Los Angeles, Central California, and the Inland Empire.

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.

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.