Election 2020

Elections

A debunked theory fuels a Trump lawsuit

 Lea este artículo en español. As if permanent markers didn’t already make enough of a mess, enter #sharpiegate. With votes for Biden mounting, a group of Trump supporters showed up to a ballot counting facility in Arizona’s Maricopa County last Wednesday and cried foul. Their claim: Poll workers were encouraging voters to mark their ballots with […]

By Steven Rascón • November 10, 2020

CalMatters en Español

Opinión: La iniciativa de voto ciudadano debe pertenecer a los ciudadanos, no a intereses especiales

Read this article in English.           Ya en 2009, el entonces presidente de la Corte Suprema de California, Ron George, preguntó: “¿Se ha convertido la iniciativa de los votantes en la herramienta del tipo de intereses especiales que se pretendía controlar y en un impedimento para el funcionamiento eficaz de un verdadero proceso democrático? “ Esa pregunta […]

By Guest Commentary • November 10, 2020

Commentary

Citizen’s ballot initiative should belong to citizens – not special interests

California should create a citizens’ initiative review process to weigh in independently for the public interest when special interests are battling it out.

By Guest Commentary • November 10, 2020

Commentary

Winners celebrate while losers rationalize

In California and elsewhere, the winners in last week's election are celebrating and the losers are engaging in rationalizations and fingerpointing.

By Dan Walters • November 10, 2020

Commentary

Votes show we’re deeply divided; where do we go from here?

We must continue to fight for a better America – for a more representative voting electorate and for a less polarized one.

By Guest Commentary • November 9, 2020

CalMatters en Español

Las mujeres de California rompen techos en la política nacional, no tanto en la política estatal

California es el hogar de la primera mujer vicepresidenta electa, Kamala Harris, y la primera mujer Portavoz de la Casa, Nancy Pelosi. Entonces, ¿por qué va a la zaga de las mujeres que ocupan el poder en la legislatura?

By Laurel Rosenhall • November 8, 2020

Elections

California women smash ceilings in national politics — not so much in state politics

California is home to the first woman vice president-elect, Kamala Harris, and first female House speaker, Nancy Pelosi. So why does it lag on women holding power in the statehouse?

By Laurel Rosenhall • November 8, 2020

Elections

‘She’s from Oakland!’ Photos capture Bay Area celebrations of Biden-Harris win

In the corner of California where Vice President-elect Kamala Harris grew up and launched her political career, residents cheered, danced, honked horns, donned American flags and popped champagne to celebrate the Democratic ticket’s victory over President Donald Trump. As the news broke early Saturday morning, revelers took to the streets wearing bathrobes, banging pots and […]

By Anne Wernikoff • November 8, 2020

Elections

Home State Advantage: What a Vice President Kamala Harris means for California

Goodbye, state of resistance. Hello, state of influence.  California’s status has shifted dramatically with the inauguration of Joe Biden as the next president. The reasons are both political — deep blue California will have more inroads to a White House controlled by Democrats — and personal: For just the second time in American history, a […]

By Laurel Rosenhall • November 7, 2020

Elections

Voting at 17? Not so fast

A proposal to give younger people a greater voice in elections was resoundingly rejected by about 55% of California voters. By some measures Proposition 18, which would have allowed 17-year-olds to vote in primary elections if they turned 18 by the next general election, should have been a shoo-in. It had the support of Governor […]

By Elena Neale-Sacks • November 6, 2020