Resources

Common Cause deployed poll monitors to more than 150 Los Angeles County vote centers on Election Day and in the early vote period. In this report, we detail our findings and provide 36 recommendations for improving the voting system in Los Angeles County for the November 2020 election and beyond.

As you are aware, the random drawing to select the first eight commissioners resulted in zero Latinos being selected. In a state where Latinos comprise nearly 40 percent of the total population and nearly one third of its citizen voting age population, a lack of Latino representation on the Commission would be unacceptable. Fortunately, you have the power, and the legal obligation, to rectify the dramatic underrepresentation of Latinos when you make your determinations regarding the final six commissioners.

Due to COVID-19 delaying the 2020 Census, redistricting advocates including former Gov. Schwarzenegger, Common Cause and the League of Women Voters of California sign an amicus letter urging the California Supreme Court to extend redistricting deadlines. This will preserve the drawing of new voting maps for the next decade.

Each summer, California Common Cause invests in bringing undergrad students from across California to our free Student Activist Training over the summer. This comprehensive guidebook serves as a resource for students enrolled in the program, teaching them the fundamentals of how to organize an issue campaign.

California Common Cause continued its Election Protection program in the June 2018 primary election. In this effort, we also observed the launch of the Voter's Choice Act in 3 counties (San Mateo, Sacramento, and Napa) while monitoring pollworker conduct and general election administration practices. Based on our observations, we developed this report to highlight some best practices and recommendations to address common issues we observed.

The California Voter's Choice Act (VCA) was co-sponsored by Senator Allen and Senator Hertzberg to make voting more convenient and accessible in participating counties. For questions, contact Kiyana Asemanfar, Policy Outreach Coordinator.