Elections

A pattern of blue waves atop an undercurrent of red waves. As Californians chose their new representatives to Congress, the Democratic "blue wave" of 2018 was followed by the red riptide of 2020/ Illustration by Anne Wernikoff for CalMatters; iStock

Elections

After California’s ‘blue wave’ to Congress in 2018? A GOP red riptide in 2020

Two years ago, Democratic newcomers across the state were swept into Congress atop a frothing “blue wave” of anti-Trump fervor — a result that only became apparent late in the vote count. This year’s election has been playing out a little like 2018 in reverse. This time the Democrats led early on, only to see their […]

By

Ben Christopher

• November 15, 2020

Education

What Prop. 15’s defeat means for California schools

The measure would have brought billions to California’s cash-strapped schools and community colleges, though not in time to help deal with immediate financial crises.

By

Ricardo Cano

• November 11, 2020

Paul Gann, left, and Howard Jarvis hold up their hands as their co-authored initiative Propsition 13 takes a commanding lead in the California primary, in Los Angeles, June 7, 1978. Photo by AP Photo

Elections

In liberal California, election shows Prop. 13 tax revolt is alive and well

With the failure of Proposition 15, the $140 million campaign to hike property taxes on businesses across the state finally comes to a close. Now begins a new statewide competition to explain what the results really mean. For opponents, which include large business groups, commercial landlords and low-tax advocates, the lesson is clear: Forty years […]

By

Ben Christopher

• November 10, 2020

Elections

A debunked theory fuels a Trump lawsuit

Lea este artículo en español. As if permanent markers didn’t already make enough of a mess, enter #sharpiegate. With votes for Biden mounting, a group of Trump supporters showed up to a ballot counting facility in Arizona’s Maricopa County last Wednesday and cried foul. Their claim: Poll workers were encouraging voters to mark their ballots with […]

By

Steven Rascón

• November 10, 2020

The first female vice president-elect and House Speaker both come from California, a state that also was the first to be represented by two female U.S. senators. Illustration by Anne Wernikoff for CalMatters. iStock, Gage Skidmore via Flickr; Office of Eric Garcetti via Flickr

Elections

California women smash ceilings in national politics — not so much in state politics

California is home to the first woman vice president-elect, Kamala Harris, and first female House speaker, Nancy Pelosi. So why does it lag on women holding power in the statehouse?

By

Laurel Rosenhall

• November 8, 2020

”She's from Oakland!” shouts Jackson Taylor, 69, as he carries a Biden-Harris sign along Grand Ave near Oakland's Lake Merritt on Nov. 7, 2020. Photo by Anne Wernikoff for CalMatters

Elections

‘She’s from Oakland!’ Photos capture Bay Area celebrations of Biden-Harris win

In the corner of California where Vice President-elect Kamala Harris grew up and launched her political career, residents cheered, danced, honked horns, donned American flags and popped champagne to celebrate the Democratic ticket’s victory over President Donald Trump. As the news broke early Saturday morning, revelers took to the streets wearing bathrobes, banging pots and […]

By

Anne Wernikoff

• November 8, 2020

Californian Kamala Harris is sworn in as vice president by Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor as her husband Doug Emhoff holds the Bible during the 59th Presidential Inauguration at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Jan. 20, 2021. Photo by Patrick Semansky, AP Photo/Pool

Elections

Home State Advantage: What a Vice President Kamala Harris means for California

Goodbye, state of resistance. Hello, state of influence. California’s status has shifted dramatically with the inauguration of Joe Biden as the next president. The reasons are both political — deep blue California will have more inroads to a White House controlled by Democrats — and personal: For just the second time in American history, a […]

By

Laurel Rosenhall

• November 7, 2020

A voter gets an "I voted sticker" at the Los Angeles Elementary School polling place on Nov. 3, 2020. Photo by Tash Kimmell for CalMatters.

Elections

Voting at 17? Not so fast

A proposal to give younger people a greater voice in elections was resoundingly rejected by about 55% of California voters. By some measures Proposition 18, which would have allowed 17-year-olds to vote in primary elections if they turned 18 by the next general election, should have been a shoo-in. It had the support of Governor […]

By

Elena Neale-Sacks

• November 6, 2020

A provisional ballot filed by a voter who registered the same day as the California primary in Oakland on March 3, 2020. Photo by Dylan Bouscher, Bay Area News Group

Elections

California dramatically cut provisional ballots. Here’s how

California officials credit new vote centers for a substantial drop in time-consuming provisional ballots this election cycle.

By

Lewis Griswold

• November 6, 2020

Dozens of volunteers extract ballots at the sports complex in Martinez on Oct. 31, 2020. Photo by Anne Wernikoff for CalMatters

Elections

With some 4 million ballots to go, what are the odds that big California races swing?

Buried in the mountain of yet-to-be-deciphered popular will of Californians lie the fates of too-close-to-call statewide propositions and dozens of congressional and legislative races. Patience for the final electoral tally may not come naturally to election watchers in Georgia and Pennsylvania — nor, for that matter, the president of the United States. But Californians should […]

By

Ben Christopher

• November 6, 2020