In summary
CalMatters is bringing its 2026 Voter Guide to life at more than 45 free, in-person events across California ahead of the Nov. 3 election. Here’s the full schedule — and how to host your own.
What’s good, California?
We can’t wait to see you again for another round of VotingMatters, our non-partisan voter education event series where people get together in person and engage in civic dialogue about the issues that matter to them as Californians.
In May, VotingMatters brought together communities over poké bowls in LA, neighbors debated the governor candidates on a relatively cool Bakersfield day, and over a hundred people showed up to support their local newsrooms in Davis and Modesto.
VotingMatters is an issue-focused series of in-person events we produce across the state with our partners, including local news organizations, colleges, libraries, churches and nonprofit organizations. Together, we host nonpartisan civil discussions about voting, policy and issues that matter to Californians. This September and October, we already have more than 45 VotingMatters events around the state, and we’re planning dozens more — with your help!
Here’s information on our upcoming events and how you can get involved. Check back regularly as we’ll frequently be updating event information. You can also get updates on our upcoming events in WhatMatters and our election newsletter.
We hope to see you soon!
– Dan Hu and Martin Romero
Fall VotingMatters event schedule
Event information is updated regularly and new events are added frequently. Please check back for the most updated information.
- Monday, Oct. 26 in South Lake Tahoe
12:30 p.m. at Lake Tahoe Community College (1 College Dr, South Lake Tahoe, CA 96150) in Lisa Maloff University Center – (more information). Food provided. - Monday, Oct. 26 in Los Angeles’ Crenshaw
5 p.m. with the Lineage Equity and Advancement Project (LEAP) and the California Black Women’s Health Project at LADWP Crenshaw Customer Service Center (4030 Crenshaw Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90008) – (register). Food provided. - Tuesday, Oct. 27 in Stockton
3:30 at Cal State Stanislaus (612 E Magnolia St, Stockton, CA 95202) in Willow Hall, #1007 with Stocktonia – (more information)(register). Food provided. - Tuesday, Oct. 27 in Thousand Oaks
5:30 p.m. at California Lutheran University’s Lundring Event Center (130 Overton Court, Thousand Oaks, CA 91360) with KCLU. Food provided. - Tuesday, Oct. 27 in San Fernando
6:30 p.m. Bodevi Wine & Espresso Bar (909 San Fernando Rd., San Fernando, CA 91340) with the San Fernando Valley Sun – (more information). - Wednesday, Oct. 28 in Mariposa
5:30 p.m. at the Mariposa County Government Center (5100 Bullion St, Board Chambers, Mariposa, CA 95338) with the California Free Agent – (more information). Food provided. - Wednesday, Oct. 28 in Santa Barbara
6 p.m. at the Louise Lowry Davis Center (111 West Victoria St, Santa Barbara, CA 93101) with Santa Barbara News-Press – (register). Food provided. - Thursday, Oct. 29 in Fresno
3 p.m. at Fresno City College (1101 E University Ave, Fresno, CA 93741). - Thursday, Oct. 29 in Seaside
3 p.m. at Cal State Monterey Bay (100 Campus Ctr, Seaside, CA 93955) in the Otter Student Union. - Thursday, Oct. 29 in Simi Valley
6 p.m. at Simi Valley (register here to receive the exact address) with Buen Vecino and California Immigrant Policy Center (CIPC) – (more information). Food provided. - Thursday, Oct. 29 in Clovis
7 p.m. at the Barmann-Chaney Performance Studio (2589 Alluvial Ave, Clovis, CA 93611) with KVPR. - Friday, Oct. 30 in Fresno
12 p.m. at Fresno State University (5241 N. Maple Ave, Fresno, CA 93740).
Past events
- Tuesday, Sept. 15 in Rancho Cucamonga
11:30 a.m. at Chaffey College (5885 Haven Ave, Rancho Cucamonga, CA 91737). Tabling event. - Wednesday, Sept. 16 in San Francisco
6 p.m. at the San Francisco Main Public Library (100 Larkin St, San Francisco, CA 94102) with the San Francisco Public Press and KALW – (register). Panel discussion. - Wednesday, Sept. 16 in Los Angeles’ Eagle Rock
11:30 a.m. at Occidental College (1600 Campus Rd, Los Angeles, CA 90041). Tabling event. - Thursday, Sept. 17 in Stockton
12 p.m. at San Joaquin Delta College (5151 Pacific Ave, Stockton, CA 95207). Tabling event. - Thursday, Sept. 17 in San Diego
6:30 p.m. at The Times of San Diego office (1855 First Ave, Suite 201, San Diego, CA). Food provided. - Saturday, Sept. 19 in La Mesa
11 a.m. at Grossmont Healthcare District’s Health & Wellness Library (9001 Wakarusa St, La Mesa, CA 91942) with East County Magazine – (more information). - Tuesday, Sept. 22 in Rancho Mirage
5:30 p.m. at Willie’s Modern Fare (69830 CA-111, Rancho Mirage, CA 92270) with Coachella Valley Independent and The Palm Springs Post – (more information). Drinks provided. - Wednesday, Sept. 23 in Los Angeles’ El Sereno
12 p.m. at Cal State Los Angeles (5151 State University Dr, Los Angeles, CA 90032) in the University Student Union Theatre with Cal State Los Angeles’ Pat Brown Institute. Food provided. - Thursday, Sept. 24 in Riverside
5:30 p.m. at the Cheech Marin Center (3581 Mission Inn Ave, Riverside, CA 92501) with the UC Riverside School of Public Policy – (register). Food provided. - Saturday, Sept. 26 in Orange
6:30 p.m. at Everywhere (1501 W Orangewood Ave Ste. 101, Orange, CA 92868) with Spotlight Schools. Drinks provided. - Sunday, Sept. 27 in Huntington Park
10:30 a.m. at Artspace HP (3382 E Florence Ave, Huntington Park, CA 90255) with EmpowerHER – (register). Tabling event. - Sunday, Sept. 27 in Belmont
1:00 p.m. at St. Mark Catholic Church (325 Marine View Ave, Belmont, CA 94002). - Monday, Sept. 28 in Redlands
6 p.m. at the Redlands Public Market (330 3rd St, Redlands, CA 92374) with Community Forward Redlands – (more information). - CANCELLED: Tuesday, Sept. 29 in Santa Clara
Unfortunately, we have cancelled this VotingMatters event because of factors outside our control. - Friday, Oct. 2 in Lynwood
5 p.m. at the Lynwood Bateman Hall (11331 Ernestine Ave, Lynwood, CA 90262) CALÓ News and Southeast Los Angeles Collaborative (SELA) – (more information)(register). Food provided. Spanish interpretation provided. - Saturday, Oct. 3 in San Diego
11:30 a.m. at the University of San Diego, Joan B. Kroc School of Peace Studies (5998 Alcalá Park, San Diego, CA 92110) in the KIPJ Theater during Politifest with Voice of San Diego – (more information). - Saturday, Oct. 3 in downtown Los Angeles
1 p.m. at the Los Angeles Public Library (630 W Fifth St., Los Angeles, CA 90071). - Monday, Oct. 5 in Watsonville
9:30 a.m. at Cabrillo College’s Watsonville Center (318 Union St, Watsonville, CA 95076) in room A130 with Santa Cruz Local – (register). - Monday, Oct. 5 in Los Angeles’ Woodland Hills
1:30 p.m. at Los Angeles Pierce College Student Community Center’s Great Hall (6201 Winnetka Ave, Woodland Hills, CA 91367). - Tuesday, Oct. 6 in Aptos
2:30 p.m. at Cabrillo College Aptos Campus (6500 Soquel Drive, Aptos, CA 95003) in the Multicultural Student Center with Santa Cruz Local – (register). - Wednesday, Oct. 7 in Santa Rosa
5 p.m. at Santa Rosa Junior College (1501 Mendocino Ave, Santa Rosa, CA 95401) in the Newman Auditorium. Tabling event. - Wednesday, Oct. 7 in Fairfield
6 p.m. at Fairfield-Suisun Adult School (900 Travis Blvd, Fairfield, CA 94533) with Children Network of Solano County and Parent Leadership Training Institute of Solano – (more information)(register). Food provided. Spanish interpretation provided. - Thursday, Oct. 8 in San Luis Obispo
11 a.m. at San Luis Obispo Library (995 Palm St, San Luis Obispo, CA 93403) in the library community room with the Latino Outreach Council. - Thursday, Oct. 8 in San Francisco
5:30 p.m. at the Toni Rembe Rock Auditorium (110 The Embarcadero, San Francisco, CA 94105) with the Commonwealth Club World Affairs of California – (more information). - Friday, Oct. 9 in San Francisco
6 p.m. left of the main entrance of The Mills Building (220 Bush St, San Francisco, CA 94104) with KALW – (register). - Saturday, Oct. 10 in San Jose
3 p.m. at The Eden Gardens (Indian Delicacy) (2 N First St Ste 150, San Jose, CA 95113) with India Currents – (more information)(register). Food provided. - Monday, Oct. 12 in Marysville
6 p.m. at Yuba College Marysville Campus (2088 North Beale Rd, Marysville, CA 95901). - Monday, Oct. 12 in Fort Bragg
6:30 p.m. at Fort Bragg Town Hall (363 N Main St, Fort Bragg, CA 95437)with Mendo Local – (more information)(register). Food provided. - Tuesday, Oct. 13 in Sacramento
11:30 a.m. at the UC Student and Policy Center (1115 11th St, Sacramento, CA 95814) – (register). Food provided. - Tuesday, Oct. 13 in San Francisco
5:30 p.m. at Manny’s (3092 16th St, San Francisco, CA 94103) – (register). Food provided. - Wednesday, Oct. 14 in Riverside
1 p.m. at Riverside City College (4800 Magnolia Ave, Riverside, CA 92506) in Bradshaw Cafeteria – (more information). Tabling event. - Wednesday, Oct. 14 in Kelseyville
6 p.m. at Kelseyville Presbyterian Church (4021 Church St, Kelseyville, CA 95451) with Lake County News – (more information). Food provided. - Thursday, Oct. 15 in Eureka
6 p.m. at North of Fourth (207 3rd St, Eureka, CA 95501) with Lost Coast Outpost – (more information). Food provided. - Thursday, Oct. 15 in Modesto
6 p.m. at the North Valley Labor Federation hall (1235 M St Ste 100, Modesto, CA 95354) with The Modesto Focus – (more information). Food provided. - Thursday, Oct. 15 in Sacramento
6 p.m. at Belle Cooledge Library (5600 South Land Park Drive, Sacramento, CA 95822) in the community room with Abridged by PBS KVIE – (more information)(register). Food provided. - Thursday, Oct. 15 in Lafayette
7 p.m. at the Lafayette Library (3491 Mount Diablo Blvd, Lafayette, CA 94549) in the Don Tatzin Community Hall – (more information). - Friday, Oct. 16 in Weaverville
7 p.m. at the Trinity Alps Performing Arts Center (30 Arbuckle Ct, Weaverville, CA 96093) with The Trinity Journal – (more information). - Saturday, Oct. 17 in Hanford
12 p.m. at Lacey Park (Lacey Park, 112 Florinda St, Hanford, CA 93230) – (more information)(register). Food provided. - Saturday, Oct. 17 in Redding
4:30 p.m. at Trilogy Architecture (2055 Pine St, Redding, CA 96001) with Shasta Scout – (more information). Food provided. - Tuesday, Oct. 20 in Oakland
6 p.m. at Temescal Brewing (4115 Telegraph Ave, Oakland, CA 94609) with Urban Strategies Council and Chicas in the Bay – (more information)(register). Food provided. - Tuesday, Oct. 20 in Yreka
7 p.m. Yreka Community Center (810 N Oregon St, Yreka, CA 96097) with Jefferson Public Radio. Food provided. - Wednesday, Oct. 21 in Sacramento
5:30 p.m. at The Sacramento Observer office (2890 Gateway Oaks Drive #230, Sacramento, CA 95833) with ABC10, Asian American Journalists Association Sacramento Chapter and The Sacramento Observer – (register). Food provided. - Wednesday, Oct. 21 in Chico
7 p.m. at Chico State (400 W 1st St, Chico, CA 95929) in Colusa Hall with NSPR, ChicoSol News, League of Women Voters of Butte County and Chico State’s Journalism and Public Relations Department – (more information). Food provided. - Thursday, Oct. 22 in Marysville
2 p.m. at Yuba College (2088 N Beale Rd Building 300, Marysville, CA 95901). - Thursday, Oct. 22 in Bakersfield
5:30 p.m. at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church (2216 17th St, Bakersfield, CA 93301) – (register). Food provided. - Thursday, Oct. 22 in Woodland
5:30 p.m. at Woodland Community College (2300 E. Gibson Rd, Woodland, CA 95776) in the community room with Abridged by PBS KVIE – (more information)(register). Food provided. - Saturday, Oct. 24 in San Jose
10 a.m. at the Sobrato Center for Nonprofits (1400 Parkmoor Ave, San Jose, CA 95126) with SIREN. - Sunday, Oct. 25 in Santa Barbara
4:30 p.m. at the Grace Fisher Foundation Inclusive Arts Clubhouse (120 S Hope Ave Unit F118, Santa Barbara, CA 93105) with Noozhawk – (register).
How to get involved
Co-host with us: Please invite us to come and do a VotingMatters event with your community! We have staff across the state available to do the presentation, we just need your help hosting: finding a venue, getting the word out, and ordering food. We’re happy to work with you to cover event costs.
Organize your own: You can also use our event kit to put on your own VotingMatters event – it’s as simple as getting your friends together for a house party, ordering some pizza, and watching and discussing CalMatters’ Props in a Minute videos! Our kit includes a slide deck, suggestions on hosting an event, an online version of our voter guide zine, marketing materials, and more.
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.
Please email us at votingmatters@calmatters.org if you’re interested!
What is VotingMatters?
CalMatters is on the road until Election Day, on Nov 3, 2026, bringing our popular 2026 Voter Guide to life during in-person conversations across California through our VotingMatters event series
During this past May for the primary election season, VotingMatters brought together over 600 Californians for civic discussions from Riverside to Vallejo. At Contentment Brewing Company, a popular, family- and pet-friendly neighborhood brewery in Modesto, we brought together around 100 people for an event co-hosted with our partner, The Modesto Focus. We spoke with people from different backgrounds: an election worker who has worked 18-hour shifts during past elections, Fresno City College students voting for the first time and even a Santa Barbara resident who said he valued our governor candidate Q&A videos.
We hope you’ll join us this fall around the state!
