Have you voted yet? Sara Rubin here acknowledging that no, I have not, but I did already receive my ballot (early—they were scheduled to go in the mail starting today, but hit the U.S. Postal Service last week). If you are registered to vote in California, you don’t need to do anything special or make a request to receive a ballot in the mail—one will just show up.
This does not mean you need to vote using this ballot. You can still opt for the in-person method, either at early voting locations (starting today) or at your polling place on Election Day, Tuesday, June 2. For a full list of locations and hours and details on how to vote, check out the County of Monterey Elections Department website.
If you’re looking for guidance on who to vote for, you can peruse candidates’ information or you might check out the Monterey County Weekly’s forthcoming endorsements, which we will publish on Thursday, May 7. Some people use it as a guide to vote the opposite—of course that’s fine with me, as long as you vote.
And that’s really what I want to focus on today now that early voting has begun. Voting is a right that too many of us squander. Midterm elections are notoriously low-turnout elections, and primaries are even worse. Even knowing that, when I looked at the last time around, in June of 2022, I was startled by the dismal turnout in Monterey County: Just 31 percent of voters cast a ballot.
This year might be better turnout-wise because of a wide-open field with 61 (yes, 61!) candidates for governor, with Gov. Gavin Newsom terming out. The top two vote-getters in the primary, regardless of party, will advance to the November general election. There are contested races for both congressional districts that encompass Monterey County, with incumbents Jimmy Panetta and Zoe Lofgren both facing challengers.
There are also local elections that matter and that I think should be enticing enough to draw participation. There is a two-person race for Monterey County Supervisor for North County’s District 2, which will be decided on June 2 with no runoff in November. There’s a contested race for County Superintendent of Schools for the first time in many years that will be decided in June. And there are local measures in four cities—Soledad, Monterey, Gonzales and Pacific Grove—to generate revenue (in the first three) or in P.G.’s case, to potentially increase councilmember compensation.
These decisions matter. Whatever the voters decide, I am hoping for better participation this year. If you choose to sit out elections, why? I’d love to hear what considerations you make when returning a ballot.
Pro tip: If you are dissatisfied with the candidates to choose from, you can still leave a field blank or write in a name. The act of voting has never been easier with a range of options to return your ballot (no postage required if you put it in the mail), so I see no excuses to sit this election out.