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Sacramento resident Chinh Phan places his ballot in an envelope after voting at the Sacramento County Voter Registration and Elections office on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. Hector Amezcua hamezcua@sacbee.com <\/p>\n
Registered voters who say they might not make it to the polls this June mostly point to a lack of information about candidates and a feeling that special interests are calling the shots anyway.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s according to a new survey from UC Berkeley\u2019s Institute of Governmental Studies<\/a>. Of the 5,962 people who responded to the April poll, about a third weren\u2019t sure they would vote in the primary election. The poll was paid for by the nonpartisan Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund, a private philanthropy that aims to increase civic engagement.<\/p>\n Of that group, 38% said they were \u201cnot all that well-informed about the issues and candidates.\u201d That number jumped to 47% when isolated to voters ages 29 and younger.<\/p>\n Close behind a feeling of being uninformed was a feeling that \u201cspecial interests and big money are controlling things.\u201d Thirty-five percent of unsure voters ticked that box, with 33% of young voters doing so.<\/p>\n Eric Schickler, IGS co-director, said when it comes to learning about the candidates, most of what voters encounter in their daily lives is advertisements and national news.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s likely the case that if voters were searching actively, they could read the local newspaper and get valid information, right? But they\u2019re kind of inundated with all of this other stuff,\u201d he said. \u201cIt creates this feeling of not having good, reliable information.\u201d<\/p>\n Schickler also said IGS doesn\u2019t have a lot of comparable historical data about voters\u2019 concern about money in politics. But the issue seems to have risen in recent years, and is one of the few places where Democrats, Republicans and independents are all in agreement.<\/p>\n Loading\u2026<\/p>\n People who answered that they weren\u2019t sure they\u2019d be voting were also asked if anything would make them more likely to vote \u2014 41% said access to an unbiased and trusted source of election news would make them more likely to get to the polls. Almost half of people under 30 agreed with the statement. The next most common things that would bring people out are if they felt the candidates or ballot measures would advance their interests, or if they felt the options were different enough.<\/p>\n According to the Public Policy Institute of California<\/a>, more than 8 in 10 Californians are registered to vote. That number is up significantly from a decade ago, thanks to automatic voter registration and a policy whereby voters addresses are updated more easily.<\/p>\n The PPIC notes that may make people need more outreach, since they have less experience navigating the electoral process.<\/p>\n Related Stories from Sacramento Bee<\/p>\n
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