The Field Poll, which has been taking the temperature of California's electorate for more than 60 years, predicts today's election will set a record for low turnout, with just over a third of registered voters casting ballots.
From the Bee's David Siders: "In a report released today, Field estimates 6 million people will vote in the election, 35 percent of registered voters and just more than 25 percent of all Californians who are eligible to vote."
"In the 2008 presidential primary, turnout reached almost 58 percent."
"If turnout today falls below 40 percent of registration, as Field expects, it will be for the first time in the modern era. The previous record low turnout for a presidential primary was 41.9 percent in 1996."
The potentially low turnout is a shame, considering that there are some truly interesting issues on the ballot -- tobacco taxes and term limits, for example. It's also the first time that California voters will use the "top-two" system to decide who runs in the November general election.
From Justin Scheck and Vauhini Vara in the Wall Street Journal: "Californians will vote Tuesday in a primary election with new rules that backers hope will lead to change in this state's polarized political landscape."
"Like most states, primaries here typically sent one Republican and Democrat per seat to the general election, where incumbents usually won. But Californians this year will vote in a consolidated primary with all candidates appearing on a single ballot. The two top finishers will continue to the general election regardless of their party affiliation."
California court officials, from the chief justice on down, are complaining that budget cuts are imperiling the system, but the courts themselves have failed to collect billions of dollars in fees owed them.
From Kendall Taggart at California Watch: "The unpaid debts include fines and penalties imposed by the courts for traffic infractions and criminal offenses. Although courts now are collecting a greater percentage of the debts, the total delinquent debt has grown by $2 billion since the courts started reporting the amounts in the 2008-09 fiscal year."
"An attorney representing private debt-collection companies urged the Judicial Council, the policymaking arm of the state courts, to create more incentives for local courts to aggressively pursue unpaid debts at the council's meeting last month."
"Officials from the Administrative Office of the Courts stressed that only a small fraction of the collected debt actually goes to the courts and that it would not necessarily help offset the budget cuts courts are fighting. Many of the court fees are distributed to counties and the state, said Donna Hershkowitz, assistant director of the Administrative Office of the Courts' Office of Governmental Affairs."
"The bill, introduced this year as HR4089 by Rep. Jeff Miller, R-Fla., would ensure existing rights and increase opportunities for hunters, target shooters and anglers on U.S. Forest Service and federal Bureau of Land Management property."
"The House bill, which is likely to be tinkered with in the Senate and reintroduced in a broader form, would essentially declare the federal land open to fishing and hunting unless a management agency specifically decides to ban or restrict the activities, said Bill Horn, legal counsel and federal affairs director for the U.S. Sportsmen's Alliance."
"But there are strong indicators that legislative leaders are committed to meeting their obligation of putting an approved spending plan on Gov. Jerry Brown’s desk by midnight next Friday."
One big reason, observers said yesterday, is lawmakers want to get paid. “I think the new state initiative that requires action by June 15 is a powerful motivator,” said Steve Maviglio, veteran Democratic consultant and communications adviser to former Gov. Gray Davis and Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez."