It’s hard to believe that we are already more than halfway through May. With time flying so quickly, I want to remind our readers that Election Day is less than three weeks away. This go ’round we have many items on our ballots; necessary for the June 8, 2010 primary election are both partisan and non-partisan decisions. Partisan choices to be made include who will represent us as our governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, controller, treasurer, attorney general, insurance commissioner, member state board of equalization, United States senator, United States representative (37th District member of Congress), and member of the State Assembly (54th district).
Wow, that’s a pretty long list. To make clear and logical choices, one sure needs to do a lot of homework on the candidates. Many folks depend on endorsements to help them decide— others ask friends, neighbors and co-workers. Still others read the campaign literature mailed to them, watch the news and/or television commercials. Some put their trust in their local newspapers or online sources to help them decide who to vote for. Unfortunately, the lion’s share of the population doesn’t bother to vote at all.
I use all of the above research techniques before heading to the polls, but my favorite method for garnering information is to attend as many public forums as possible. My big interest this election is in the four Democrats who are running to be our U.S. Representative for the 37th District— Star Parker is the only one running for the seat as a Republican. Try as I might, I just couldn’t find any forums. When I called the usual forum sponsors (various local nonprofit organizations), I was told that there either wasn’t any interest or they just didn’t have the means to host a forum for the primary this time. After digging a little further, I discovered that the Sacred Heart Church in Compton plans to host a Congressional candidate forum this coming Saturday at 5pm. Located at 1720 N. Culver Avenue, the church is near the corner of Alameda Street and Florence Avenue. As of press time, I intend to be there as does one of our writers, Steven Piper. I hope to find standing-room only as these candidates have earned the right to be heard. Running for the seat are (in the order they appear on the sample ballot) Peter Mathews, Terrance Ponchak, incumbent Laura Richardson, and Lee Davis.
I recently received a press release from our Secretary of State Debra Bowen asking me to remind my readers that the deadline to register to vote is just around the corner. She has also offered an array of resources to help us all in voting. Please read below!
People may register to vote in California if they are United States citizens, reside in California, are at least 18 years old by Election Day, are not in prison or on parole for a felony conviction, and have not been judged by a court to be mentally incompetent. A voter must re-register to vote when they change names, permanent residence or political party choice.
In California, people must register to vote at least 15 days before an election. The deadline to do so for the June 8 primary is May 24. Californians can pick up voter registration forms at any county elections office, public library or U.S. post office, or fill out a form on the Secretary of State’s website, then print, sign and mail it to the county elections office address pre-printed on the form. For more information on registering to vote call (800) 345-VOTE (8683), or visit sos.ca.gov.
