Resources

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.

Many election laws and campaign practices are shaped at the local level, including how people vote for their city officials and the campaign contribution limits for those offices. California Common Cause recently completed a major study of these practices for all 482 cities in California.

The Supreme Court has held that campaign contribution limits are a legitimate means of “deal[ing] with the reality or appearance of corruption inherent in a system permitting unlimited financial contributions.” Campaign contribution limits help to ensure that candidates are not overly reliant on a few wealthy donors to finance their campaigns. With a cap on individual contributions, candidates must also build a broader base of smaller contributions to be viable. As of 2014, the federal government and 38 states had enacted campaign contribution limits. Thirty-four states have also enacted local campaign contribution limits.

Voter participation in the United States is plummeting. In California, there is a widening gap between the number eligible voters and the number of voters who successfully cast a ballot. During the 2014 midterm elections, California set a record low for voter turnout in a regularly scheduled general election; only 42.2 percent of registered voters. In an effort to address waning civic participation, some states have adopted modern technology and procedures that make the voting process more streamlined and accessible to a wider audience of voters.

The need for restructuring our campaign finance system has never been so dire. One reform with particular promise is the use of public funds to amplify the voice of everyday citizens in political campaigns. Public Financing helps to reduce corruption, hold politicians accountable and create a government of, by, and for the people.