California's turnout not record low, count slow

The latest official tally from the Secretary of State's office shows that 4.8 million ballots have been counted from California's primary, with 2.5 million still to go.

Based on the late Friday numbers, the total of nearly 7.3 million votes means a turnout of about 33%, well below the norm for presidential primaries, but not the record low that some analysts projected based on early numbers.

It also means that it's going to be a while before some results are finalized, likely amplifying complaints that it takes too long to count votes in California. While voting by mail has been happening for a month, as long as ballots were postmarked by last Tuesday and they arrive at elections offices by this Tuesday, they will be counted. As expected, the votes being counted after primary day are trending more Democratic and younger.

While the U.S. Senate and other races have been called by media organizations, and candidates have declared victory or conceded in others, many other closer contests and the only statewide ballot measure, Proposition 1, still hang in the balance. The Secretary of State has until April 12 to certify the results.

At the same time, the state has been trying to increase voter registration: The rate among all eligible voters is now at 83%, up from 68% in 2008. But those new voters are less likely to regularly cast ballots, which leads to a lower percentage turnout.

A new Public Policy Institute of California brief points out that automatic registration through the Department of Motor Vehicles has increased the registration rate by four percentage points since 2018.

But while the changes were designed to make the electorate more representative of California's diversity, there have been only small increases for historically underrepresented groups, the report says.

And new registrants tend to be less familiar with elections and are less likely to actually vote.

In 2020, the turnout gap between them and voters overall was similar to the existing gap between voters older than 65 and those younger than 25, who are also less likely to vote.

The report: “New registrants… have less experience with the political system and need more engagement to become regular voters.”

Lorena Gonzalez, leader of the California Labor Federation, agreed, posting on social media today that “the much bigger problem is how to get marginalized communities to turn in their ballot. That's where we should focus our efforts & money.”

Campaign finance: The state's campaign finance watchdog has a new leader. Late Friday, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced he has appointed Adam Silver as chairperson of the Fair Political Practices Commission. Silver, a Democrat and chief counsel for the Assembly Legislative Ethics Committee since 2018 and the commission counsel from 2017 to 2018, replaces Richard Miadich, chairperson since 2019. Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas called Silver “a true ambassador for compliance.” The position does not require Senate confirmation and pays $241,728 a year.

In other state news: Can homeless encampments govern themselves?

Initially regarded as a potential solution for part of the state's homeless crisis, a city-approved, self-governing homeless camp in Sacramento isn't going as well as activists and camp residents hoped, writes CalMatters homelessness reporter Marisa Kendall.

Despite more than 181,000 people now living on California streets, a 2018 federal appeals court decision limits cities from clearing encampments unless they can offer residents a place to go. Though this policy may change after the U.S. Supreme Court takes another look at the case, cities in the meantime have looked into safe sleeping sites as a cost-effective way to allow homeless residents to go about their lives while potentially curtailing other encampments from cropping up in “sensitive community areas,” such as near schools and transit stops.

After the city of Sacramento agreed to lease the grounds of an existing encampment for free to a homeless advocacy group, Camp Resolution became one such site. The city provided a handful of trailers, portable toilets, dumpsters and ongoing trash pickup for residents.

But other than that, it has largely taken a handsoff approach and Camp Resolution residents must fend for themselves. The place has no electricity or running water, community members donate food and a shower service operated by a nonprofit recently stopped coming by. The county's District Attorney's Office is also threatening the city to close the camp, citing public health hazards.

Joyce Jones, a resident and co-founder of Camp Resolution: “We try to make it as comfortable as possible, but sometimes it's impossible…. It's not going very well. I think that (the city) should do a little bit more.”

Speaking of Californians living on the edge: California is offering one-time Disaster CalFresh benefits to San Diego County residents affected by the January storms, reports Justo Robles of CalMatters' California Divide team. The application window is tight: It opened March 7 and ends Friday.

To apply, residents can call the county's social services office at 877-847-3663 (FOOD) or submit a pre-registration application. The state's social services department said it will provide 30 days of food benefits to families who qualify. Eligible applicants include households that lost food or income due to the storm, or incurred evacuation-related expenses such as hotel or transportation charges. Storm-impacted families already receiving CalFresh do not qualify, and can seek supplemental CalFresh benefits.