- Part 1 It’s Super Tuesday: Your guide to the California Primary
- Part 2 Californians, you sent us your how-to-vote questions — here are our answers
- Part 3 An earlier say: Race to the White House runs through California
- Part 4 Want to vote for president in California but bewildered by the changing rules? Here’s how it works
- Part 5 How to win California: A guide to the nation’s largest presidential primary
- Part 6 The presidential contest for California cash, in 6 data visualizations
- Part 7 10 ways Democratic presidential candidates aim to make the U.S. like California — and do those ideas work here?
- Part 8 Fact check: Trump hits and misses as he campaigns for re-election — and against California
- Part 9 The new Proposition 13: A $15 billion bond for school facilities
- Part 10 The races to watch: California Congressional primary
- Part 11 The races to watch: California Assembly primary
- Part 12 The races to watch: California Senate primary
California: Get ready for your close-up.
Long viewed as a cash-rich afterthought on the presidential campaign trail, the country’s largest state will finally have an early say in who will win each political party’s presidential nomination — and by extension, who will occupy the White House come January 2021.
Californians now get to vote on March 3. For those who vote by mail (most voters these days), they may get their chance to cast a ballot a month earlier. That means that while candidates and much of the national press corps are crowding into Iowa to see how the first-in-the-nation presidential contest shakes out, Californians — with more delegates to award than any other state — will be weighing in too.

But it won’t just be presidential candidates on the ballot. Voters here will have a few other decisions to make:
- To sign off on the current makeup of the state Legislature — or to push state governance in a different direction
- To affirm the gains of the Democratic sweep of California’s congressional delegation — or to rollback 2018’s “blue wave”
- To sign off on billions of new spending on school construction — or to say no to more borrowing
If you’re confused about what’s at stake in this election, which races to watch or how to vote, consider this guide your one-stop-shop.

Find the answers to your election questions here. Have more questions? Be sure to ask us with the form below.
California Primary 2020 Voter Guide
- Part 1 It’s Super Tuesday: Your guide to the California Primary
- Next: Part 2 Californians, you sent us your how-to-vote questions — here are our answers CalMatters answers your 2020 California primary election questions
- Part 3 An earlier say: Race to the White House runs through California
- Part 4 Want to vote for president in California but bewildered by the changing rules? Here’s how it works If you’re unsure about how to get the ballot you want or what presidential primaries are all about, here are four things to know before you vote.
- Part 5 How to win California: A guide to the nation’s largest presidential primary California's electorate is diverse. Our election procedures, complex. Our population and campaign costs, enormous. Given the challenges, experts share strategies: the dos and don'ts of campaigning for president in the Golden State.
- Part 6 The presidential contest for California cash, in 6 data visualizations Who raised the most from California's donor class? Who relies most on the Golden State's largesse? You've got questions, we've got graphics.
- Part 7 10 ways Democratic presidential candidates aim to make the U.S. like California — and do those ideas work here?
- Part 8 Fact check: Trump hits and misses as he campaigns for re-election — and against California
- Part 9 The new Proposition 13: A $15 billion bond for school facilities
- Part 10 The races to watch: California Congressional primary
- Part 11 The races to watch: California Assembly primary
- Part 12 The races to watch: California Senate primary