Counties Need More Money to Properly Execute State Primary
This year counties across the state need more funding to properly hold the much anticipated June primary, says Matt Cate, executive director of the California State Association of Counties.
California’s primary, although significant for its large number of delegates, has not held much gravitas in presidential elections because by the time Californians vote, the nominees are pretty much already set in stone. But as Cate points out in The Sacramento Bee, the close race I both major political parties means we can expect a large number of voters to turnout this year.
He adds however that this explosion in voting “also creates a much larger workload for county election officials.”
If elections don’t go smoothly, there could be a mess like we’ve seen in states like Arizona. The state must do what it can to help citizens fulfill their constitutional right to vote.
“To ensure successful elections on June 7 and Nov. 8, counties need more money immediately.”
Fortunately, “Secretary of State Alex Padilla is asking the governor and the Legislature to allocate $32 million in additional funding so we can fulfill our responsibility to run accessible and efficient elections in every corner of the state.”
Two things need to be addressed prior to the elections as well. “Long-term funding [is] needed to buy modern equipment that can serve voters for the next decade,” and “counties need to be reimbursed for the mandated services we’ve already provided, and the state should establish a revenue stream to pay for special elections going forward.”
Cate concluded, “we have an urgent need for more staffing to make sure the June and November elections go as planned and that the voters’ choices count. We appreciate that Padilla recognizes this critical issue, and hope the Legislature and the governor agree and act quickly.”
