Who cares? Not many, apparently, given today’s expected record low voter turnout. Some don’t even know who’s on the ballot – Matier and Ross report the absurd and depressing news that 40% of likely voters don’t even know that Governor Jerry Brown is up for re-election this year.
Christopher Delago has the depressing Field Poll apathy numbers in the Sacramento Bee.
“California voter turnout will likely sink to just 46 percent on Tuesday, a new record for apathy in a statewide general election, according to Field Poll estimates…
“’It’s going to be a record low, and by quite some margin,’ said Mark DiCamillo, director of the poll. ‘This is really a sad news story for the state.’”
For those who do actually care, the Bee also has seven races to watch, including the Ami Bera-Doug Ose nailbiter and Sacramento’s “Strong Mayor” Measure L Initiative.
On the other side of the coin is us: the political junkies who look forward to Election Day the way kids look forward to Christmas. KQED’s John Myers gets it.
“Election Day is, for politics fans, kind of like the Super Bowl. Huge excitement, armchair analysis, a lot of pizza. But until the returns start coming in, it’s also a chance to take stock of some of the mounds of data and anecdotes about the candidates and campaigns that have been laboring so intensely for your vote….”
As an Election Day gift to us all he’s put together a great big Index of All Things Notable, California Election Watch 2014 style. Don’t miss.
Capitol Weekly looks at the statewide ballot prop that’s largely flying under the radar: Prop 47, which would release thousands currently in California prisons for nonserious or nonviolent offenses - and would reclassify some lesser felonies as misdemeanors. Prop 47 may not be getting much attention, but it’s a big deal, writes Dorothy Mills-Gregg.
“Backers of Proposition 47 say the initiative is long overdue.
“’We shouldn’t be spending money in ways that don’t benefit the people,’ says Surina Khan, CEO of the Women’s Foundation of California. ‘[This will] focus on what is best for the people of California, keeping communities safe…’ Khan’s group, which works with donors to improve conditions for the state’s women and children, has contributed $25,000 to support Proposition 47.
“Prosecutors see it differently, noting that easing prison sentences could endanger the public.
“’[It will make it] more difficult for us to do our jobs,’ said Sean Hoffman, director of legislation for the California District Attorneys Association. ‘[It’s] bad for public safety.’”
And since we’re all probably watching the US Senate as closely as everything else, here’s Nate Silver’s final prediction, at FiveThirtyEight, posted after midnight: Reeps have a 76.2% chance of taking control of the chamber; hopeful Dems cling to a 23.8% - roughly one-in-four odds – that they will retain control.
And, thanks for all the submissions in yesterday’s contest to win tickets to the Capitol Weekly, UC Center, Leadership California Institute’s Post-Mortem of the Election. Everyone who entered had the right answer and was placed in the drawing for tickets: October 10, 1911 was the day California voted to give women the right to vote. From the Secretary of State’s office:
“Just before the election, 10,000 people gathered for a final "monster rally" in San Francisco, which was followed by fireworks and a band concert. But on Election Day, October 10, 1911, the measure was soundly defeated in the San Francisco Bay Area and just barely passed in Los Angeles. Disheartened and disappointed, suffragists began to plan yet another campaign when late reports from the far flung counties began to swing the vote in their favor.
“When the long count was finally completed several days later, Equal Suffrage had passed by only 3,587 votes – an average majority of one vote in each precinct in the state! The final tally was 125,037 to 121,450. As suffragists had hoped, work in the rural districts successfully overcame the more organized opposition in the cities. With the passage of votes for women in California, the number of women with full suffrage in the U.S. doubled, and San Francisco became the most populous city in the world in which women could vote.”
Congratulations to winners Madhavi Kennedy and Peter Wright – we’ll see you on Thursday!
