Also: A third attempt at a housing bill.
 | | Voters in San Francisco on Election Day in 2016. Jim Wilson/The New York Times |
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(If you don’t already get California Today by email, here’s the sign-up.) |
We are now 55 days away from March 3, which — in case you have managed to forget — is California’s Primary Day, now and for the foreseeable future. |
But while Super Tuesday is an important deadline for the state’s election officials, Secretary of State Alex Padilla told me there’s perhaps an even bigger one coming up on Feb. 3. |
That’s when Californians can actually start voting, by casting ballots at their county elections offices, and that’s also when vote-by-mail ballots will be sent out. |
“We are in prime time,” Mr. Padilla said. |
Most registered voters are ready to go. They won’t have to do anything in order to vote in the primary. |
Those who are registered as Democrats will get ballots with Democratic presidential candidates, those registered as Republicans can vote for their preferred Republican presidential candidate, and so on. (And, yes, there will be options besides President Trump.) |
In the 15 counties conducting their elections under the model laid out by the Voter’s Choice Act, you won’t have to ask for a vote-by-mail ballot; it will be sent automatically. |
However, there is a wrinkle that seems to be causing some confusion: As deep blue California has settled into its top-two primary system, the number of voters who have registered as having “No Party Preference” has risen. |
As of the most recent state report, the number was 26.7 percent, or 5.4 million, which is more than the 23.6 percent registered as Republicans. |
And those “No Party Preference” voters do have to take action to make their pick for president in March. |
I asked Sam Mahood, spokesman for the Secretary of State’s office, to walk me through the process. |
Is there an imminent deadline? |
“Yes and no — not really,” Mr. Mahood told me. |
In December, if you were registered as having no party preference, you were sent a postcard asking if you wanted to vote for president in the March primary, and if so, you were given three ballot options. |
Those are the only parties who have chosen to allow “No Party Preference” voters to participate in their primaries. |
If you’ve already sent yours back with the box checked saying, for example, you’d like to vote for a Democratic presidential candidate, “you’re good,” Mr. Mahood said. You’ll get to vote for your preferred candidate. |
What if I’m a “No Party Preference” voter and did not send back the postcard? |
Send it back right away, Mr. Mahood said, if you still have it and you want to vote in one of those three primaries. Otherwise, you may get a ballot without any presidential candidates on it. |
If you were sent a ballot without presidential candidates and you do want to vote for one, do not fill out that ballot. Instead, contact your county election office. |
“You can call them, you can email them, you can fax them,” he said, and ask for a replacement ballot to be mailed to you. |
Some counties already have online portals to do this. |
You can also take that blank ballot to a physical polling place and exchange it for a ballot with presidential candidates from one of those parties. |
And if you prefer to vote in person, ask a poll worker for a ballot with your preferred party candidates on it when you check in. |
What if I’m a “No Party Preference” voter and want to vote for Republican, Green or Peace and Freedom presidential candidates? (And, again, yes, there are multiple of each.) |
You have to re-register to vote as a member of the party whose candidate you want to vote for. (So, if you want to cast a primary ballot for President Trump, you’ll need to re-register as a Republican.) |
What if you forget to do all that? |
You can still go through the same-day voter registration process — although Mr. Mahood said he wouldn’t recommend it, since it involves going to your county election office, a vote center or your polling place in person, where waits will probably be quite long. |
Oh, and it probably goes without saying that, if you can, you should vote. |
As Mr. Padilla put it: “I think we all learned in high school government that our democracy works best when as many people participate as they can.” |
Here’s what else we’re following |
We often link to sites that limit access for nonsubscribers. We appreciate your reading Times coverage, but we also encourage you to support local news if you can. |
 | | A development near the Dublin/Pleasanton BART station.Aaron Wojack for The New York Times |
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- State Senator Scott Wiener announced a third attempt to pass legislation that would allow denser development in an effort to add to the state’s housing supply. Here’s a look at what’s different this time. [CalMatters]
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- Representative Duncan Hunter submitted his resignation on Tuesday, effectively ending his family’s political dynasty. Last month, Mr. Hunter, a Republican from Alpine, pleaded guilty to a corruption charge. [The Associated Press]
- More than a dozen Los Angeles police officers are under investigation on suspicion of wrongly portraying people as gang members on field interview cards to boost statistics. [The Los Angeles Times]
- A federal judge said he was likely to give final approval to U.S.C.’s $215 million class-action settlement with former patients of Dr. George Tyndall, the school’s longtime campus gynecologist who was accused of sexual misconduct involving hundreds of women. [The New York Times]
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- Starting this year, routine pediatric visits for millions of California kids will include screening for toxic stress. That could involve questions about sensitive topics like divorce or a parent who struggles with alcoholism. Here’s what you need to know. [California Healthline]
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Food and drink of the diaspora(s) |
 | | Usha Prabakaran, the author of “Usha’s Pickle Digest,” making a pickle of Carissa carandas, also known as Bengal currants, at home in Chennai, India.Saumya Khandelwal for The New York Times |
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- Twenty years ago, Usha Prabakaran wrote a self-published cookbook with 1,000 pickle recipes. It’s become a cult classic in and outside of India, where Ms. Prabakaran lives. Cooks share the PDF and photos of its pages. [The New York Times]
- High tariffs on European wines are striking fear into the heart of the American wine industry — both importers and producers: “All wines rely on the same distribution network.” [The New York Times]
- “I was just a punk rock kid. And what’s more punk rock than getting paid to eat?” Javier Cabral, a Los Angeles food writer and associate producer for “Las Crónicas del Taco” on Netflix, comes to grips with becoming “the token taco writer.” [The Guardian]
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Jill Cowan grew up in Orange County, graduated from U.C. Berkeley and has reported all over the state, including the Bay Area, Bakersfield and Los Angeles — but she always wants to see more. Follow along here or on Twitter, @jillcowan. |
California Today is edited by Julie Bloom, who grew up in Los Angeles and graduated from U.C. Berkeley. |
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