Elections

Yes, that political campaign text message is from a real person. At least, that’s what it says. For months, Californians have been bombarded with text messages from multiple political campaigns pleading for money and votes. But many recipients question whether these texts are sent by bots or are even legal. As with so much law […]

By

Steven Rascón

• October 28, 2020

The polling place at San Francisco City Hall on Super Tuesday 2020. Photo by Anne Wernikoff for CalMatters

Elections

Need a translator to vote? Amid pandemic, California is trying to help

California’s push to expand language access in elections has run headlong into pandemic fears and record numbers of Californians voting early, from home.

By

Michael Lozano

• October 28, 2020

Elections

Citizen, interrupted

After more than a decade living in the United States, Santiago Pazos thought he’d be able to vote this year for the first time. He moved to Los Angeles from Spain in 2009, got a green card and eventually started his own business. He became eligible to apply for citizenship earlier this year, and was […]

By

Sofie Kodner

• October 28, 2020

Elections

Living room campaigners adapt to a pandemic election

Betsy Guthrie used to lead campaign phone bank trainings in loud, crowded houses sprinkled with snacks and buzzing with energy. Not this year. Ms. Guthrie is alone in the guest bedroom of her home in Marin County, shouting into a computer while fiddling with screen share. “I don’t know how we would do this right […]

By

Sofie Kodner

• October 28, 2020

An official ballot drop-off box at Emeryville City Hall on Oct. 15, 2020. Photo by Anne Wernikoff for CalMatters

Elections

Smooth and simple or problematic? California, tell us your experience voting

You’ve voted, or you plan to. We want to know how the process works for you.

By

CalMatters Staff

• October 27, 2020

An hourglass sits on a table. While voters in some other states might need to worry about postal warnings and a new Supreme Court ruling, Californians have plenty of time to mail in their ballots. Image via iStock

Elections

Is it too late to mail in your ballot? Here’s why you don’t need to panic

A week before Election Day and anxiety over the postal service’s ability to ferry voters’ ballots to county election administrators on time has ratcheted up yet again. Here are the reasons the alarm bells are ringing anew: Back in May, the United States Postal Service’s top lawyer advised voters across the country to put their […]

By

Ben Christopher

• October 27, 2020

PG&E’s Oakland K substation is silhouetted at sunset in the hills of Oakland, Calif., on Wednesday, October 9, 2019. PG&E was supposed to shut off power at noon in the Oakland hills, but at 8:45 PM it was still on. Photo by Jane Tyska, Bay Area News Group

Elections

When power is transferred—literally—in an election

In a stark scene of what the electoral process in California can look like in 2020, masked voters last Monday cast early ballots in an El Dorado County elections office powered by a generator after dry winds and fear of wildfires triggered an electricity shutoff. This year, thanks to back-up generators and the promise of […]

By

Aaron Leathley

• October 27, 2020

Illustration by Anne Wernikoff for CalMatters; iStock

Elections

Cash blitz: Who’s spending the most to influence your vote for California’s Legislature?

State law caps the amount donors can give to a legislator’s campaign — but these special interests can spend as much as they like mounting their own campaigns to praise or trash candidates. And the money interest groups are pouring into these “independent expenditure committees” has reached dizzying heights. So far more than $31 million of […]

By

Ben Christopher

and

Laurel Rosenhall

• October 27, 2020

Uber and Lyft stickers are seen on a car at the ride share lot at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) on Aug. 20, 2020 in Los Angeles. Uber and Lyft drivers held a rally earlier at the airport calling for basic employment rights. An appeals court granted Lyft and Uber an emergency stay from needing to classify drivers as employees allowing ride-sharing services to continue after a threatened shutdown. Photo by Ringo Chiu, ZUMA Wire/Alamy Live News

Economy

Lawsuits and labor backlash: Prop. 22’s cutthroat final days

Gig companies embark on a last-minute spending blitz after a court rules that drivers should be paid as employees and labor groups question campaign tactics.

By

Lauren Hepler

• October 27, 2020

Voters at BeeBee Memorial Christian Methodist church in Oakland on Super Tuesday 2020. Photo by Anne Wernikoff for CalMatters

Elections

Pens, PPE, Police: Preparing for in-person voting

It was a succinct appraisal of the state of mind of county election officials grappling with the new normal of voting in the year of a pandemic, disinformation and threats of voter intimidation. Across California, officials have been training workers at polling places and vote centers in new protocols, acquiring equipment to protect voters and […]

By

Aaron Leathley

and

Zachary Fletcher

• October 26, 2020