Turnout starts off slow for critical primary California election
Turnout starts off slow for critical primary California election
Voters are heading to the polls across California on Tuesday for a critical primary election, though overall turnout has started slow despite several high-stakes races on the ballot, including the contest to decide the final two contenders for California governor.
SAN JOSE, Calif. - Voters are heading to the polls across California on Tuesday for a critical primary election, though overall turnout has started slow despite several high-stakes races on the ballot, including the contest to decide the final two contenders for California governor.
Dropping off ballots
Local perspective:
In San Jose, early morning voters were already utilizing ballot drop boxes roughly 30 minutes before local voting centers officially opened. Election officials are hoping the morning momentum signals a shift in what has otherwise been a low-turnout election cycle.
According to Political Data, election officials saw a massive, last-minute surge in mail-in participation, recording over 800,000 ballots returned on Monday alone. That figure represents more than double the previous daily high for this election. A partisan breakdown of the returned ballots shows that 19% of registered Democrats and approximately 23% of registered Republicans have submitted their votes.
Frustration from Secretary of State
What they're saying:
California governor's race tightens as primary day approaches
With Tuesday's primary election approaching, the race for California governor is coming into focus — and one candidate's rise has surprised nearly everyone watching.
The California Secretary of State's office reported that 5.4 million Californians have signed up to use the state's ballot-tracking system. However, state election leaders expressed frustration that more voters did not return their ballots earlier in the window.
"We've been drilling this home for over a year now, since the last election... telling people to get it in now," said California Secretary of State Shirley Weber. "People are slowly getting it there and understanding and turning it in. They know we need their ballots and we've been saying it across the state."
The gubernatorial race is drawing significant local attention in San Jose, as the city faces the possibility of losing its mayor to the state executive race, though recent data suggests that outcome may be unlikely.
A final Emerson College poll released over the weekend shows Democrat Xavier Becerra expanding his lead at the top of the ticket, securing 28% support among likely voters. The battle for the crucial second-place spot—which determines who advances to the general election—remains a statistical dead heat. The poll places Democrat Tom Steyer in second with 22% support, closely followed by Republican Steve Hilton at 21%.
Other candidates in the field, including Chad Bianco, Katie Porter, and San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, saw their support decline compared to Emerson’s previous polling conducted earlier this month.
The Emerson findings differ slightly from the latest UC Berkeley Institute poll. While Becerra maintained the lead in the UC Berkeley poll, that survey showed Hilton holding a narrow edge over Steyer for the second-place spot.
The Source: Emerson College poll, Secretary of State Shirley Weber