State Election Coverage
Teens 16 and 17 get to vote in two Alameda County school board races
Candidates seeking to lead the Oakland Unified School District faced a barrage of tough questions one recent evening — an interrogation led by an enthusiastic group of new voters suddenly endowed with political power: 16- and 17-year-old high school students. In a first for California, teens in two Alameda County school districts, Berkeley and…
Read MoreHow do you register new voters? This group is using regional Mexican music
The infamous wall at the U.S.-Mexico border was visible in the distance at Joe Orduño Park in San Luis, Ariz., and the sun was just beginning to set beyond it when the organizer of the music festival climbed onto the stage on an evening in October. Esau Torres, co-founder of the group Grita. Canta.…
Read MoreThe group behind Measure J hopes Sonoma County is the start of a green movement
Kristina Garfinkel is an activist and Santa Rosa resident who said she treasures Sonoma County’s rural, farm-based culture. Still, for the past year, she’s been one of the lead organizers of an initiative that many say could upend farming in Sonoma County. Measure J is on the ballot for residents of Sonoma County and has…
Read MoreWould Prop. 36 reduce retail theft and drug offenses, or would it just punish harshly without deterring crime?
Despite claims and counterclaims by politicians, police officials and community groups about the direction of Oakland’s crime rate, one thing is clear: Many Oakland voters say they continue to feel unsafe when they are out shopping, dining at a restaurant, or even strolling around Lake Merritt. On Tuesday, California voters will decide on a new…
Read MoreIf Prop. 6 passes, California will join the list of states outlawing forced prison labor in recent years.
Shawna Lynn Jones died while fighting a fire that raged through the hills of Malibu in 2016. She was struck by a boulder and suffered major head trauma just over a month before she was due to be released from prison. “So that just is an extreme example of, like, what slavery can do in…
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