Time to lock in, California voters

With less than two months until Nov. 3, it’s time to get serious about the upcoming election. In addition to choosing the next governor, insurance commissioner and other state leaders, voters will decide on 14 statewide propositions, U.S. House representatives and most members of the state Legislature.

It’s a lot to decide, especially considering that you’ll see five ballot measures about taxes.

This election is also marked by widespread confusion amid the campaign by President Donald Trump to restrict mail-in ballots — despite using the voting method himself. His sweeping March executive order prompted the U.S. Postal Service to issue rules requiring states to turn over a list of eligible mail voters, redesign ballot envelopes with the Postal Service’s approval and include new tracking barcodes. Voters who are not in a federal database the administration wants to build, or states that do not comply with the new rules, would not receive their ballots from the Postal Service if Trump’s order takes effect. 

California, in a coalition with two dozen other states, moved quickly to sue over the new rules and protect the state’s power to run its elections. Last week a district court granted the states a preliminary injunction blocking the rules from taking effect anytime before or during the November elections.

On Sunday the Trump administration filed an appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court to undo that block. It’s the second time the White House appealed to the high court on this subject since Thursday.

• Gov. Gavin Newsom, in a social media post after Trump’s latest appeal on Sunday: “This is weakness from a failed president masquerading as strength.”

The continuing legal fallout and a striking whistleblower complaint has sown uncertainty among states, especially as mail ballots roll out. North Carolina, for example, already sent out last week its absentee ballots. 

All the more reason, then, to pay close attention to the election, your ballot and CalMatters’ voter guide. It includes quizzes for the ballot propositions and a new one for the insurance commissioner race, as well as candidate video interviews, voting resources and more.

Check it out.

Lawmakers sent two bills to Newsom that aim to improve the recovery process after a wildfire and help address when it is safe for survivors to move back into their homes, writes CalMatters’ Levi Sumagaysay.

Many Californians with homes that did not burn down from last year’s deadly Los Angeles County fires still haven’t returned to their residences. After months of back-and-forth with their insurance companies, residents await test results for lead and asbestos, as well as for their homes to be cleared of toxic materials.

One bill would require the state to create first-in-the-nation standards for smoke damage, including standards for lead and asbestos testing, repair and removal by the end of 2028. Another would incorporate the new standards and require insurance companies to abide by them. The bills are paired together, and one cannot become law without the other.

• Jane Lawton Potelle, bill proponent and executive director of Eaton Fire Residents United: “Insurers are relying on people not to know information. I want people to know how to protect themselves and stop being afraid.”

Read more.

Will California state government’s largest union go on strike in the final weeks of Newsom’s administration?

SEIU Local 1000 said Monday that it will be holding a strike authorization vote as it bargains for its final contract with Newsom.

• Anica Walls, union president: “We are announcing a historic step for our union. A yes vote sends a clear message to the state: We are united, we are serious and we are prepared to strike.”

The union wants larger paychecks and is angry over Newsom’s mandate that state workers go to the office at least four times a week. Many union members want more flexibility to work from home. 

The authorization vote does not necessarily mean a strike will happen. Local 1000 represents roughly 100,000 state employees. It came closest striking in 2016, but reached a deal with then-Gov. Jerry Brown just before its members were expected to walk out.

Only 15 of California’s 58 counties allow Medi-Cal to cover assisted living care. These centers help seniors who do not require around-the-clock care with basic tasks, such as bathing or getting dressed. The lack of coverage forces seniors — particularly in rural areas — to consider undesirable options, including living in costly nursing homes that do take Medi-Cal or to move to assisted living facilities that are far from family.

But one Siskiyou County man’s fight to get his sister into assisted living nearby helped spark a pilot program that challenges this paradigm. Read more from Jessica Blough for CalMatters.