In summary

Our 2026 primary election event details are available, and we also have a DIY kit to host your own event.

CalMatters is on the road all of May, bringing our popular 2026 Voter Guide to life during in-person, community conversations across California.

Our VotingMatters events are produced in collaboration with on-the-ground partners – local news organizations, colleges, libraries, churches and nonprofit organizations.  Together, we bring people together for civil, issue-focused conversations that Californians have called  “engaging,” “informative” and “democracy at its best.”

In 2024, across dozens of events, we heard from first-time voters at our 180-attendee Cal State LA event, saw landlords and renters – both still suffering in the aftermath of the 2018 Camp Fire – find common ground on Proposition 33 around at our event in Chico, and heard from KVCR’s executive director Connie M. Leyva who closed with, “Democracy, as messy as it can be, works when people engage and participate,” at our event in San Bernardino.

NOTE: Check back throughout the primary as we update this post with more information.

  • Noon Tuesday, May 5 in Tahoe City with Lake Tahoe Community College at the Lisa Maloff University Center (One College Drive, 96150)
  • 6 p.m. Wednesday, May 6 in Sacramento at the Valley Hi-North Laguna Library (7400 Imagination Parkway, 95823) with Sacramento Public Library and California State Library
  • 3 p.m. Thursday, May 7 in Fresno with Fresno City College at the Old Administration Building Room 188 (1101 East University Ave., 93741) — (more information)
  • 6 p.m. Monday, May 11 in Montecito with Noozhawk – for Hawks Club members — (more information)
  • 6 p.m. Tuesday, May 12 in San Francisco with the San Francisco Main Library at the Koret Auditorium at (100 Larkin St., 94102) with California State Library — more information here
  • 6 p.m. Tuesday, May 12 in Camarillo at Institution Ale Co. (3841 Mission Oaks Blvd., 93012) with the Ventura County Star (mention Ventura County Star at the register) — more information here
  • 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 13 in Los Angeles in Los Angeles with The LA Local and the Democracy Center at the Japanese American National Museum (100 North Central Ave., 90012) — (register) (food provided)
  • 5 p.m. Thursday, May 14 in Bakersfield at Imbibe Wine and Spirits (4140 Truxton Ave., 93309) with Kern Sol News — (food provided) (register)
  • 5 p.m. Friday, May 15 in Riverside at Greater Riverside Chambers of Commerce boardroom (3985 University Ave., 92501) with Riverside Record, Raincross Gazette, Inland Empire Law Weekly and Community Forward Redlands — (food provided) (more information)
  • 4 p.m. Monday, May 18 in Fremont at the Fremont Main Library (2400 Stevenson Blvd., 94538) with Alameda County Libraries — (more information)
  • 6-7:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 19 in Vallejo at the JFK Library, Joseph meeting room (505 Santa Clara St., 94590) led by CalMatters and the League of Women Voters of Solano County and the Parent Leadership Training Institute, with youth voices from Elevate Youth and local partners, the event is open to PLTI alumni, youth participants and members of the Vallejo community — (food provided) (event will include interpretation in Spanish) (register)
  • 6 p.m. Wednesday, May 20 in San Francisco at The Mills Building (220 Montgomery St., 94104) with KALW — (register)
  • 6 p.m. Friday, May 22 in Davis in the Blanchard Room at Stephens Davis Public Library (315 E. 14th St., 95616) with Abridged / PBS KVIE, Yolo Local and Yolo County Library — (register)
  • 6 p.m. Tuesday, May 26 in Merced at The Partisan (432 West Main St., 95340) with The Merced Focus and Central Valley Journalism Collaborative – (food provided) (21+)
  • 6 p.m. Tuesday, May 26 in Fresno at the Big Red Church (2131 N Van Ness Blvd., 93704) with Fresnoland. This will be a special election bingo event!
  • 6 p.m. Wednesday, May 27 in Modesto at Contentment Brewing Co. (208 Campus Way, 95350) with The Modesto Focus and Central Valley Journalism Collaborative — (food provided)

Host your own VotingMatters event

We’re making it easy for anyone in California to host their own VotingMatters event. We’ve prepared a kit that includes a slide deck, suggestions on hosting an event, an online version of our voter guide zine, marketing materials, and more. Whether you’re a teacher with a class full of students or an avid reader who wants to throw an election-minded house party, you’ll have the resources you need.

VotingMatters events work best when friends and neighbors come together to discuss these issues among themselves, so CalMatters’ materials are designed to be educational and helpful for driving civil and informative conversations. You don’t need to be an expert on the election yourself – you just need to help facilitate a discussion.

If you’d like to host your own VotingMatters event, reach out to Sonya Quick at sonya@calmatters.org.

Sonya builds bridges between the community and CalMatters as director of membership. Previously, she led engagement, membership, marketing, digital storytelling and product at Voice of OC, a nonprofit...