Anyone streaming or watching television in California over the last few months has been bombarded with political ads.
For many voters, however, these messages are not enough to encourage them to vote, according to a UC Berkeley IGS poll conducted last month.
The report found many would-be voters for this June 2 primary feel uninformed and uninspired.
Some places, such as Northern California’s Yolo and Lake counties, are trying to invigorate and encourage historically uninterested groups to engage civically, namely young and older voters.
Let’s jump into what the poll says and review two counties’ efforts to increase voter turnout.
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Survey says: Voters don’t know where to turn
Berkeley IGS polled 5,962 California registered voters and found that those less likely to vote told pollsters three main factors kept them from voting.
Roughly 38% of voters, the largest contingent, said a lack of information about the candidates and issues kept them from voting.
The No. 2 concern (35%) was the belief that moneyed interests play too large a role in elections, and others believed (28%) their votes don’t matter.
All is not lost
These uninterested voters, however, said there are ways to get them to vote.
When Berkeley pollsters asked voters what would encourage them to go to the voting booths, 41% said they needed “unbiased and trusted news sources.”
Others said they would consider voting if the ballot measures would advance their interests (31%) and if there were differences between the candidates on issues they were more passionate about (30%). Also, 29% would consider voting if they trusted the results.
Yolo County is pioneering a way
Yolo County’s Jesse Salinas wears many hats. He is the registrar of voters, clerk-recorder and county assessor for Sacramento-adjacent Yolo County, home to roughly 225,000 people.
Salinas has partnered with community workers and others to try to change voting attitudes at the high school level with the Yolo County Youth Civic Initiative, launched in 2017.
State and local leaders provided input for high school courses that make the voting process understandable and show how local and state governments serve respective communities.
The initiative’s big event is the annual Youth Empowerment Summit, hosted at UC Davis since 2022.
Last year’s event included round-table discussions between students and 30 local officials, including mayors and school superintendents.
Salinas said a record 141 students took part in the symposium last September, and over 700 students from Yolo County have participated since its inception nine years earlier.
Students were surveyed before and after the event, with 17 students saying before the event they strongly agreed that they understood how the voting process worked. That number jumped to 63 afterward, an increase of 284%.
Similarly large before-and-after percentage jumps were seen on students’ surveys about their confidence in understanding how local government work (557%), the role of elected officials (160%), and comfort talking about issues (229%).
Salinas said his district saw some fruits of its labor at election time too.
For the 2024 presidential election, Yolo County residents age 18 to 24 voted at a 69.54% clip, well above the state average of 42.5% for that same group.
“One of the most rewarding aspects of this program is when young voters tell you they feel empowered and informed to vote,” Salinas said. “That’s exciting.”
Have it your way at Lake County
Meanwhile in Lake County, north of Santa Rosa, efforts are underway to grow voter participation among the 25% of the residents who are age 65 or older.
Maria Valadez, Lake County registrar of voters, is focused on the mobility problems of older voters.
Like most counties, Lake offers drop box options — seven across the county — and vote-by-mail options.
The county, however, also provides more personalized services for those who have trouble moving around.
For instance, Lake County provides curbside voting assistance so that voters who can’t enter a facility can “vote safely from their vehicle,” according to Valadez.
The Lake County registrar’s office also delivers and retrieves ballots upon request to voters who are homebound or staying in medical facilities, including hospitals or care homes.
“[These services] help ensure Lake County voters have multiple convenient and secure ways to participate in elections,” Valadez said.
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