Policy Brief Policy Brief: Do Registration Reforms Add New Voters or Keep Californians Registered? By Eric McGhee, Jennifer Paluch, Mindy Romero, Stephanie Barton Mar 6, 2024 Automatic voter registration and streamlined address updates have brought new voters onto the rolls while helping those who move within the state stay registered—but these reforms have not improved representation. To bring more young and diverse Californians into the electorate, the state must broaden its efforts to register new voters.
blog post Voting Matters to Most Californians, but Many Don’t Show Up By Dean Bonner, Rachel Lawler Mar 3, 2020 In California, belief in the importance of voting in the 2020 elections is overwhelming, but the electorate needs to grow to fully represent the state’s diversity.
blog post California’s Politically Invisible By Eric McGhee Jul 27, 2021 California voters are older, better educated, wealthier, and more likely to be white than Californians who don’t vote. This gap between the voting public and Californians as a whole can make election results unrepresentative.
blog post Election Takeaways: California Voters Send Conflicting Signals By Mark Baldassare Dec 14, 2020 Nearly 18 million Californians voted in the November 2020 election—an all-time high. PPIC’s Mark Baldassare discusses the final election results and what they say about Californians’ mindset and policy preferences in a year of unprecedented challenges.
blog post Diversity in the California Statehouse By Jennifer Paluch Dec 17, 2020 White lawmakers account for a disproportionately large share of the legislature, while Latinos are underrepresented. But the legislature has gotten more diverse in recent years.
Statewide Survey PPIC Statewide Survey: Californians and Their Government By Mark Baldassare, Dean Bonner, Rachel Lawler, Deja Thomas May 25, 2022 Key finding include: Rising prices, the economy, and housing are the top issues for Californians. Most approve of the $18 billion package that Governor Newsom has proposed to address inflation. Majorities think the nation is headed in the wrong direction and anticipate bad economic times in the next year. For the November midterm elections, most likely voters favor the Democratic candidate in their House district and prefer a candidate who wants Roe v. Wade kept in place.
blog post Waning Confidence in the Electoral Process By Rachel Lawler Oct 15, 2019 As California heads into an especially important election year, residents’ confidence in the state’s electoral system has declined substantially from prior years.
blog post Solid Majorities of Californians View Crime as a Problem By Dean Bonner Sep 27, 2022 Nearly two in three Californians, including solid majorities across most regions of the state, say that violence and street crime in their community are a problem. Three in ten statewide say violence and street crime are a big problem, an increase from prior to the pandemic.
Statewide Survey PPIC Statewide Survey: Californians and Their Government By Mark Baldassare, Dean Bonner, Lauren Mora, Deja Thomas Dec 6, 2023 Two in three likely voters favor Proposition 1, a March ballot measure that would restructure funding for behavioral health services in California. Nearly half believe that the United States has a responsibility to do something about the fighting between Israeli forces and Hamas, while a majority think Congress should authorize additional funding for Ukraine to support its war with Russia.
