Elections

A canal in San Joaquin Valley is shown. Voters will decide on a $8.9 billion water bond.

Elections

What an $8.9 billion water bond would buy

A 152-mile long canal that irrigates pistachios and other crops in the eastern San Joaquin Valley is sinking by an inch a month, the result of groundwater over-pumping by farmers. The Sacramento Bee described the Friant-Kern Canal as an engineering marvel, but its capacity has been reduced by as much as 60 percent at because of subsidence. […]

By

Dan Morain

• July 16, 2018

State Sen. Kevin de León of Los Angeles. Photo by Max Whittaker for CALmatters

Elections

Feinstein iced out by state Democratic Party leaders—they endorse progressive de León for U.S. Senate

A rebuke, a snub, a progressive smackdown—these are the terms headlining coverage of the California Democratic Party executive council's vote this weekend to back liberal state legislator Kevin de León in his longshot bid to unseat veteran U.S. Dianne Feinstein.

By

CalMatters Staff

• July 15, 2018

Democratic Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom and Republican businessman John Cox are in a match-up to replace outgoing California Gov. Jerry Brown.

Elections

WATCH: Governor candidates on how they would tackle California wildfires

Rivals for the governor's office Gavin Newsom and John Cox agree that wildfires pose an alarming threat to California—but what would they do to prevent and combat them? Here's what they told us.

By

Byrhonda Lyons

• July 12, 2018

Voting stickers. Photo by Robbie Short for CALmatters

Elections

Turnout climbed to 37% in California’s primary—here’s the who, where and why

California turnout topped 37 percent in the June primary—but there were wide variations that help explain the oversized power of certain slices of the electorate.

By

Ben Christopher

• July 8, 2018

A voting center in Rancho Cordova, Sacramento, is shown on June 5, 2018. | Photo by Robbie Short for CALmatters

Elections

Five counties tried new voting method to turbo-charge turnout. Did it work?

In the June primary, five counties switched to a drastically new way of voting to boost turnout The result? Their average turnout shot up by 12 percent—but so did the state average.

By

Byrhonda Lyons

• July 6, 2018

California Gov. Gavin Newsom and state Democratic lawmakers are at odds over a budget compromise. Photo by Jeff Turner

Capitol

Special interests win as lawmakers cut last-minute deals to pull initiatives off your ballot

An optimist might cheer the fact that lawmakers were doing their jobs. Others label it legal extortion.

By

Laurel Rosenhall

• June 29, 2018

Woman confronting lengthy ballot. Illustration by Dan Hubig for CALmatters

Elections

Brace yourself, Californians: Here are the 12 ballot measures you get to decide in November

After months of signature gathering and legislative wrangling, here's the final list of propositions that made the cut for the November election.

By

Ben Christopher

• June 28, 2018

A map of California showing how it would be divided into three separate states under the Three Californias initiative

Elections

Had California been 3 states in June’s primary, here’s who would have won

California voters will vote this fall on whether to divide the state in three. We ask the question: How did the three would-be new states vote in last week's primary election?

By

Ben Christopher

• June 14, 2018

Elections

California’s Blue Wave watch: Why this graphic should worry Republicans

The preliminary count from California's primary suggests that voters in certain high profile districts are much more inclined toward Democrats than they were in 2014. That may or may not foretell a “blue wave” in California, but it does show that Republicans have their work cut out for them.

By

Ben Christopher

• June 11, 2018

Elections

With voter turnout up statewide, five California counties find new mail-in ballot system slows count

Some 2.5 million ballots across California had not yet been tabulated—a consequence of more voters opting to vote by mail. But for the five California counties that implemented the state Voters Choice Act, it’s been vote-by-mail on steroids—and delayed final results.

By

Byrhonda Lyons

• June 8, 2018