Election 2008: December 2007 Archives

Interest in the wide-open presidential election _ and California's early role with the Feb. 5 primary _ is serving to drive up voter registration, particularly among Democrats.

Secretary of State Debra Bowen is reporting that 500,000 more Californians are registered to vote this year compared with the last presidential primary election.

“Californians have a chance to shape the presidential race with the earlier primary election, and the critical first step is registering to vote,” Bowen said. “There are still 31 days left to register to vote before the registration period closes January 22.”

Five-hundred thousand more Californians are registered to vote than there were at this time before the last Presidential Primary Election four years ago, according to the Secretary of State’s newest Report of Registration released today.

The report, with data gathered 60 days before a statewide primary election, reflects updates to voter registration rolls, including the removal of those who have passed away, moved out of state, or have been determined to be ineligible to vote, as well as the addition of new registrants.

When compared to the same period before the last presidential primary, registration lags behind California’s population growth. While the overall registration number has grown, the percentage of people who are eligible to vote and actually registered to vote has dipped from about 68.4% to just below 67.3%. The drop is partly due to better tracking and removal of so-called “deadwood” from the voter registration rolls.

“Californians have a chance to shape the presidential race with the earlier primary election, and the critical first step is registering to vote,” said Secretary Bowen, the state’s chief elections officer. “There are still 31 days left to register to vote before the registration period closes January 22.”

To view the release go to : http://www.sos.ca.gov/executive/press_releases/news_releases.htm.

In a sign that Californians are tapping into a presidential primary season largely playing out elsewhere, the race here between Democrats Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama has narrowed substantially since October, according to a Field Poll released Tuesday.Sacramento Bee.

Clinton still holds a 14-point lead over fellow U.S. Sen. Obama among likely voters in the Democratic primary, 36 percent to 22 percent. But the margin between the two has dropped from the 25-point gap Field recorded just two months ago.

Poll Director Mark DiCamillo said his findings show California voters – who will go to the polls Feb. 5 – have started to tune in to the primary debate raging two and three time zones away.

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is making his second trip to Nevada this weekend on behalf of the presidential campaign of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton.
Villaraigosa, one of the national co-chairs of Clinton's effort, has made one other trip on her behalf to Nevada to make the case to Latino voters to convince them to vote for her. He also recently went to Iowa to campaign for her.

As Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama prepare for some local fundraisers tonight in Los Angeles, both are also planning a visible presence to bring out their supporters.
For Obama, fresh off the Oprah-mania tour in Iowa and South Carolina, it will be a Universal City event with the Goo Goo Dolls and Ne-Yo.
Clinton, will be a private fundraiser as more than 300 house parties are planned around the state to reach out to volunteers.
Both campaigns are showing a lot of interest in California with its Feb. 5 presidential primary and, even more important, the mailing soon of absentee ballots.

California voters will face one of the simplest ballots in years in February, but experts say they can still expect a barrage of advertising over the next two months. Harrison Sheppard in the Daily News.

That's because the issues on the Feb. 5 ballot could influence hundreds of millions of dollars in annual state spending, term limits for state lawmakers and potentially the next presidential election.

Voters will weigh in on seven measures, one candidate race and the presidential primary. But the election generally boils down to four decisions because four of the ballot measures are nearly identical and one has been abandoned by its authors.

Presidential contenders are digging deeper into Californians' pockets than ever before, already raising more than $50million in the Golden State even before campaigns get aggressively under way. Lisa Friedman in the Daiiy News.

The tally so far amounts to nearly 70percent of the $76million raised in California during the entire 2004 campaign cycle and virtually assures that contributions this election year will surpass previous fundraising, according to campaign records.

The massive donations come as the state's early Feb. 5 primary has added new clout to California and spurred a renewed candidate focus on the region.