SACRAMENTO\u00a0\u2014\u00a0Polling places throughout California open today for a special election that could help Democrats\u2019 efforts to quell President Trump\u2019s agenda but, if trends hold, most of the votes may have already been cast. <\/p>\n
Since 2020, more than eight in 10 Californians during statewide general or special elections have voted by mailing their ballot, depositing it into an official drop box or returning it to a local voting center, according to a new analysis by UC Berkeley\u2019s Institute of Governmental Studies. Back in 2008, nearly six in 10 voters in California went to the polls and used a voting machine on Election Day.<\/p>\n
Political analysts expect that significant shift toward early voting to hold true for today\u2019s special election for Proposition 50, a ballot measure that would change California\u2019s congressional district boundaries to favor Democrats. The measure, backed by Gov. Gavin Newsom and Democratic leaders, was placed on the ballot to counteract a redistricting plan intended to give Republicans more seats in Texas and other GOP states at the behest of Trump, aimed at keeping Congress in Republican hands. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt certainly extends the voting window and just makes it a lot easier,\u201d said Mark DiCamillo, the institute\u2019s poll director. \u201cI think once a voter does that and uses that method, they are more likely to continue using it in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gov. Gavin Newsom urged voters to choose alternative methods in 2020 due to safety concerns with in-person voting during the height of the pandemic. But while precautions against COVID-19 have largely faded, voters continue to embrace different ways of voting.<\/p>\n