With Election 2016 just days away, here are some of the most interesting facts and figures about California voters.

Election 2016 is just around the corner.

Over the past days, weeks, and months, much reporting has been done about the election.

But, it seems most of it has focused on the presidential contest between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. Or on polls tied to local and state races and ballot initiatives.

Meanwhile, we felt that there had been a lack of coverage of interesting facts and figures related to the voters, such as voter registration stats and get out the vote efforts taking place across the state of California.

So, in an effort to help fill the gap, we bring you Election 2016: Top Voter Facts and Figures.

Voter Registration Stats

Voter registration for the state of California is administered through the CA Secretary of State’s office.

Starting about two months prior to the election, the @CASOSvote team and others began reporting on the state’s voter registration statistics.

The deadline to register in order to vote in the election being held on November 8 was October 24.

In the final two days, more than half a million Californians registered or updated their existing registrations. And more than half of those voters were under 35!

Outreach to Today’s Youth

Speaking of young people, the CA Secretary of State’s office made a concerted effort this fall to get teens more involved in the political process.

On October 11, high schools across the state participated in a Student Mock Election.

The @CASOSvote team also encouraged high schoolers to become poll workers, promoting the opportunity to “Learn while you earn $$$.”

On a related note, residents of San Francisco might want to check out Prop F. It’s a local ballot measure that would allow SF residents to begin voting at age 16, so long as they are U.S. citizens and registered to vote.

Sports + Politics FTW (For The Win)

In addition to reaching out to young people, CA Secretary of State Alex Padilla took his voter registration efforts to sports fans.

In September, Padilla appeared at a San Francisco Giants home game to encourage voter registration in partnership with HeadCount.

Then, in October, Padilla made a special trip to Oracle Arena to encourage voter registration during a Golden State Warriors home game.

CA Embraces Multi-Lingual Access and Information

California is a diverse state where citizens speak many languages.

Accordingly voters can register in 10 different languages, including English, Spanish, Chinese, Hindi, Japanese, Khmer, Korean, Tagalog, Thai, and Vietnamese.

In addition to accommodating multiple languages when it comes to voter registration, the CA Secretary of State’s office provides online voter information in 10 languages.

The Impact of Technology

With one of the presidential candidates being famous (or perhaps infamous) for his Twitter activity, it should perhaps come as no surprise that social media has played a large role in voter registration, as well.

But ballot selfies are not allowed.

That said, you can still use your smartphone at the polls. In fact, there’s an app for that.

Learn More

To learn more about voting in San Francisco, please check out the Reset SF voter guide.

And to learn more about the California Voter Bill of Rights, please be sure to check out the informative yet adorable video below!

 

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