Zócalo's Connecting California
A Vote for More Meaningful Primary Elections
It's clear that California's much-ballyhooed primary election was mostly a dud. A surge in voter registrations did not lead to significantly higher turnout, and most of the races had predetermined outcomes.
By Joe Mathews • • 5m ListenThe blizzard of campaign rallies and stump appearances has ended, and your mailbox is no longer overflowing with campaign flyers -- at least for now. With the dust settled, Zócalo Public Square columnist Joe Mathews says it's clear that California's primary election did not live up to the hype. Not only did we miss out – again – on having a say in the presidential nominating contests, but the surge in voter registrations did not lead to a higher turnout as pollsters and pundits had predicted, and most of the races had predetermined outcomes. Still, there were some interesting takeaways from the campaign, including Donald Trump's race-based meltdown and changes coming to the powerful LA County Board of Supervisors.
Photo: Steve McFarland