Opinion | California Faces Historically Low Primary Election Turnout

Yuan Media's Op-ed

By Editorial Board

Today is Super Tuesday when 16 states hold primary elections. The primary election isn't just about the presidential race; it also includes races for lawmakers and some local government contests.

We went to a precinct in San Jose, a city in the Bay Area of California. San Jose falls within California's 17th Congressional District. It's the only majority-Asian district in the contiguous United States and is also known as the wealthiest congressional district nationwide.

California's primary election is unique because regardless of party affiliation, the top two finishers advance to November's general election.

In other states, most primaries are held within parties, where each party selects one candidate to compete in the general election. However, in California, you may notice that in the general election, two candidates from the same party compete against each other.

California is traditionally a blue state. Therefore, a couple of races seem to have two Democratic candidates running against each other in general elections. However, this year may not be the case.

The issue is that California's turnout rate is on track to hit a historic low. As of last Tuesday, only 1.7 million out of California's 22 million registered voters had returned their mail-in ballots. That's roughly 8 percent of the total. By this point in the 2022 midterm election, the turnout was at 33 percent.

Skepticism about mail-in ballots is more common among Republicans, leading many of them to lean towards casting same-day ballots. The low rate of returned mail-in ballots does not bode well for California Democrats.

Yesterday, our reporteraconducted street interviews in San Jose and discovered that most people were unaware of the primary election would happen today. Many had never heard of Super Tuesday and were unfamiliar with the candidates on the ballot. Among them was an Asian American girl at San Jose State University who mistakenly believed she had already voted, but in reality, she had only registered.

In recent years, the California government has made great efforts to increase voter turnout.

However, these efforts have been fruitless.

California's low turnout reflects the ignorance and disillusionment of American voters with politics. If this disillusionment spreads, it will create a vicious cycle: the less you participate, the more disappointed you become.

Voting is the simplest and most economical way to participate in politics. We should believe that every vote has the power to effect change. As Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, minorities in the US, we should especially value our voting power.

In California, particularly, in the Congressional District with AAPI as majority, voting is a powerful way to express the stance of this ethnic group. We should appreicate our vote and get our voices heard to make changes.