Californians have five more days to vote, and as of Thursday, more than 5.8 million of the 22.8 million registered voters had returned their ballots.
In the final stretch, campaigns are amping up outreach efforts and some of the stakes in the election are coming into sharper focus:
Legislative races: Democrats hold two-thirds supermajorities in both the Assembly and Senate, giving them power over the budget and policy. Whether that one-party dominance is good or bad for California is a debate that even some Democrats are having.
Sen. Bill Dodd, to the Los Angeles Times: “I certainly don’t think it’s good for democracy overall and in the end it’s not going to be good for the Democratic caucus.”The Napa Democrat is one of the three dozen departing lawmakers, which will mean the Legislature will look quite different next year. The party split, however, may remain largely unchanged: There are 11 Democrat vs. Democrat races on the ballot, compared to only six Republican against Republican contests.
Transgender voters: As part of L.A. County’s efforts to set up voting centers in diverse communities, several LGBTQ community leaders plan to unveil today a voting center at the Connie Norman Transgender Empowerment Center in West Hollywood. Seeking to “provide safe and welcoming places for everyone to vote,” they will be joined by Mayor John Erickson and Dean Logan, the county’s registrar.
Ballot props: To drum up support for Proposition 4 and Prop. 6, proponents are drawing attention to key endorsements. For the bond issue that would allow the state to borrow $10 billion for climate projects, the Yes on Prop. 4 campaign has highlighted backing from several local governments and a handful of groups representing California cities and counties, including the League of California Cities and the Association of Bay Area Governments.
And while Prop. 6 is trailing in the polls, several high-profile female politicians and activists publicized their support for amending the state constitution to limit forced prison labor. This includes U.S. Reps. Maxine Waters and Barbara Lee, L.A. Mayor Karen Bass and labor leader Dolores Huerta.
Also, CalMatters politics intern Jenna Peterson has her last TikTok and Instagram reel (with three personas!), this one on Prop. 35, which would require the state to spend revenue from a tax on health plans on Medi-Cal. See her earlier ones on other props on TikTok and Instagram.
VotingMatters: CalMatters has a new local lookup tool to find out what you’ll be voting on for the November election. We’re also hosting a series of public events across California. The last one is Monday at Contra Costa College. Sign up here. We’ve added ways to access the Voter Guide, including fully translated versions in Chinese and in Korean, as well as in Spanish. And keep up with CalMatters coverage by signing up for 2024 election emails.
Focus on inequality: Each Friday, the California Divide team delivers a newsletter that focuses on the politics and policy of inequality. Read an edition and subscribe.
Other Stories You Should Know
Abortion access in court
Beverly Hills City Hall on April 16, 2024. Photo by Jules Hotz for CalMattersThough the state enshrined abortion protections in its constitution in 2022, California’s Department of Justice is cracking down again on what it argues are obstacles to abortion rights.
As CalMatters Capitol reporter Alexei Koseff explains, Attorney General Rob Bonta slammed Beverly Hills Thursday after the justice department found the city had unlawfully and improperly delayed the opening of a third-trimester abortion clinic last year.
Now, in what Bonta described as a “first-of-its kind agreement,” one of California’s wealthiest and well-known cities must train its employees about state and federal protections for abortion clinics, and develop a process for people to report potential violations to the state.
Bonta, to CalMatters: “Unfortunately, it’s a reminder that anti-reproductive freedom actions don’t just happen in Texas or red states that are cracking down on reproductive health care, but it can happen right here in California. … We will prevail if any other cities or jurisdictions seek to follow Beverly Hills’ poor example here.”City officials continue to deny any wrongdoing, with Mayor Lester Friedman saying in a statement that they “did not and will not discriminate against any reproductive healthcare provider and strongly supports a woman’s right to choose.”
In another settlement with the justice department Tuesday, a Catholic-owned hospital in Eureka agreed to comply with state law after it refused to provide emergency abortion care to a pregnant woman who was miscarrying.
Read more about the Beverly Hills abortion settlement in Alexei’s story.
Invasion of the golden mussel
Researcher Marcela Uliano da Silva shows samples of the golden mussel at the Carlos Chagas Filho Biophysics Institute in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on Jan. 29, 2015. Photo by Leo Correa via AP PhotoAn invasive species of mussel native to China and Southeast Asia has found its way to California — and biologists are ringing the alarm, writes CalMatters environment reporter Alastair Bland.
Golden mussels — which can attach themselves to underwater surfaces and form “reefs” that can grow as fast as 150 miles a year — were reported in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta near Stockton on Oct. 17. This marked the first confirmed appearance of the mussel in North America, and it has since been found in one other location in Merced County.
The small freshwater mollusks can clog vital water supply systems, such as the Delta pumping stations that send water south to 30 million people and millions of acres of farmland. They can also push out native vegetation and rob native animal species of essential nutrients.
California Department of Fish and Wildlife, in a statement: Golden mussel “poses a significant immediate threat to the ecological health of the Delta and all waters of the state, water conveyance systems, infrastructure and water quality.”The wildlife department is partnering with various local, state and federal agencies to contain the spread. How the mussels journeyed to California is unclear, though experts suspect they hitchhiked inside commercial ships.
Learn more about the threat of golden mussels in Alastair’s story.
And lastly: Mental health
Supporters of Proposition 1 hang banners before the start of a rally at the state Capitol on Jan. 31, 2024. Photos by José Luis Villegas for CalMattersWhile California voters decide the fate of 10 propositions, the only one from March was Prop. 1 — a mental health measure championed by Gov. Gavin Newsom that voters narrowly approved. CalMatters’ Jocelyn Wiener, Mia Henry and video strategy director Robert Meeks have a video segment on how Prop. 1 would impact people with serious mental illnesses. Watch it here.
SoCalMatters airs at 5:58 p.m. weekdays on PBS SoCal.
California Voices
CalMatters columnist Dan Walters: With the Klamath River dam removal completed, there’s hope that salmon runs will be restored, but the water war continues in the Klamath Basin.
Other things worth your time:
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Can Newsom help in key US House races? // Politico
CA parents’ rights movement faces pushback in 2024 election // The Sacramento Bee
The 100 CA residents giving the most in the presidential race // Los Angeles Times
Oakland Mayor Thao sends open letter to major funder of recall // San Francisco Chronicle
Former OC Supervisor Do pleads guilty to felony bribery // LAist
Legal gender identity documents can be sealed, CA court rules // San Francisco Chronicle
LA County sues Pepsi and Coca-Cola over plastic pollution // Los Angeles Times
Bay Area regulators hit Valeros Benicia refinery with $82M fine // KQED
Striking SF hotel workers arrested after cable car sit-in // The San Francisco Standard
What does media executive Michael Moritz want for SF? // Mission Local
Norwalk joins rebellion against state housing rules // Los Angeles Times
Thousands of UCSF workers are preparing to strike // KQED