BALLOT CONTAINS 2 SEPARATE RACES FOR SAME SEATS

An oddity of California’s election this year places two separate terms for two races on the same ballot, creating possible confusion for voters.

That’s especially true in South County, where voters in the 80th Assembly District are deciding who will replace former Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez for the balance of her term through December, and also voting on finalists for the next consecutive term.

“We’re here today because ... two races on San Diego’s ballot for the June 7 primary election are creating serious confusion for some voters,” said Becca Taylor, Acting Chair, San Diego County Democratic Party, at a news conference on the issue held outside the San Diego County Registrar of Voters Wednesday. “Our office has been getting a lot of calls about this. Do they vote twice? Why is it on there?”

In addition, there’s a double Senate race. Sen. Alex Padilla, who was appointed by Gov. Gavin Newsom to fill Vice President Kamala Harris’ seat last year, must compete for the remainder of that term through January 2023 and also for the next full six-year term for the U.S. Senate seat. That’s because of recent federal case rulings suggesting that California’s practice of appointing officials to fill Senate vacancies could be unconstitutional.

In the 80th Assembly election, the June 7 primary will serve as the final contest for the remainder of the current term. Democrats and former San Diego City Council members Georgette Gómez and David Alvarez are in a runoff for the partial term. Since neither won more than 50 percent of the vote in a special primary in April, they must compete again this month to decide that race.

Here’s where it gets confusing; the two Democrats are concurrently running in a primary election for the following term, along with Republicans Lincoln Pickard and John Vogel Garcia. The two front-runners in the primary will face off in November for the next two-year term starting at the end of this year.

Because of those overlapping races, South County ballots in the 80th Assembly District show two elections each for the California Assembly

seat and the U.S. Senate seat. That’s left some voters reluctant to vote on what they fear may be redundant races, officials said.

“Voters throughout the state, but certainly if you have a ballot in South County, should double down on that and realize they’re not seeing things, they’re not seeing double, it’s not a misprint, it’s not a mistake,” said Chula Vista Councilman and state senate candidate Steve Padilla, at a news conference hosted by the San Diego Democratic Party.

To complicate the matter further, Assembly boundaries changed as a result of redistricting efforts, so some 80th Assembly voters may be in a different district for the next term.

“We just went through redistricting, so there are new districts,” Padilla said. “So this is also the primary battle for the election to the full term in the new district, which is slightly different and has slightly different boundaries.”

Vogel Garcia, a candidate in that race, said there may be misunderstandings not only about the double elections, but also about ballots that reflect new voting boundaries and show elections for two separate Assembly districts.

“Just as in the U.S. Senate election, there may be some confusion at first as to why, for some voters of the old 80th Assembly district, there are two contests on the ballot, while for others the 80th district and another Assembly district are on the ballot together,” he said in an e-mail.

Padilla urged voters to cast their votes on both elections for the two double races, assuring them that while it’s weird, it’s within the law.

“You should vote twice. It’s lawful and legal and you’re voting in two separate elections” for each seat, he said.

Padilla acknowledged that the situation with overlapping elections is not ideal, and said the state should update election rules to provide clear explanations for any future double elections.

“If there is an exercise in our democracy and in our society where information should be clear and consistent and understandable, it’s at the ballot,” Padilla said.