Midterm elections can be hard to predict. Historically, voter turnout is lower than in presidential years. The Primary can be uneventful, and if you look at this past Primary in Sacramento County, 38% of registered voters cast a ballot, and only 30% of eligible voters participated. These are lackluster numbers, but they're actually higher than the statewide average turnout of 33% of registered voters and 27% of overall eligible voters. Vote-by-mail is now, by far, the more popular way to vote, but even as easy as it is to vote, only some do. Enthusiasm fluctuates, and here in California, we just had a recall election last year, followed by the primary a few months later in June, and now, a midterm. But this midterm could be different. We have an important abortion proposition on the ballot, a Governor seat up for grabs, several local and statewide seats, and local measures that have sparked debate. To get a sense of where this election is going so far, Insight invited Paul Mitchell with "Political Data, Inc." A non-partisan voter information data information service to join us to share some early voter data.

In less than two weeks, people will be able to vote the old-fashioned way (in person) and pick up their highly coveted “I Voted’ stickers. But election offices have long been buzzing, already receiving mail-in ballots and will begin tallying them once polls close on November 8th. But as we previously discussed on Insight, election officials across California and the country are leaving their positions after being harassed and threatened. Election integrity has also been a contentious topic since the 2020 election, bringing unprecedented attention and scrutiny to their work. Insight checked in with two regional election officials to learn more about their work, the challenges they’re facing, and how they’re working to overcome them to ensure a fair and transparent election process. Those two officials were Gregory Diaz, the Registrar of Voters for Nevada County, and Oliva Hale, the Registrar of Voters for San Joaquin County. 

Richard Soto was disappointed in the lack of Latino literature available at the colleges he attended. With this yearning for Mexican-American-Chicano history, Soto followed his heart and created the Chicano Research Center in Stockton, a nonprofit dedicated to sharing this history with the Central Valley. The center is an interactive bilingual library, including a museum and oral history project specific to Mexican-American Chicano history. Soto joined Insight to tell us more about the center and how he created a space focused on Mexican American literature.