Wondering who has voted for which campaign or ballot measure? Wondering what voter turnout looks like? Wondering what type of voter has already voted in a specific district? We do not have the answers.
But, PDI may have some answers. Political Data, Inc. has their 2022 Primary Ballot Tracker up and running. Anyone can access it and see detailed turnout information for almost any district in California.
The Tracker provides information on the total number of ballots returned as of a specific date. It also has details about the type of voter broken down by party affiliation, age, and ethnicity. The data is slightly delayed because PDI needs to get the information from the different counties’ registrar of voters.
So what does turnout look like? Slow like molasses in January. Statewide, about 7% of voters have returned their ballots as of yesterday. Why are voters taking their time to fill out and mail back their ballots? We may need to wait until after June 7 and analyses are completed, although Capitol Weekly ran a pre-election analysis by PDI Vice President Paul Mitchell.
Some speculate that voters are waiting to vote in case something unexpected happens. For example, in the 2020 Primary Election, many Democratic voters cast their ballots early only to discover their choice for president had dropped out of the race before California held its election. In many areas, the ballot has more candidates than in previous years due to the fact that most city and county elections are now held in even-numbered years. Long ballots may be delaying voters from filling them out simply because it takes more time to decide how to vote. Yet another factor is some voters still prefer to cast their ballot on election day. We should know the answer to these and other questions soon. Stay tuned – same bat time; same bat channel.