Merced Mysteries & Minutiae: California primary late in the game to cut costs

For the most part, Californians have watched all of the presidential campaign excitement (and absurdity) from afar.

We watched the first GOP debates that included Jeb Bush, Ben Carson, Carly Fiorina and Marco Rubio. We watched Democrat Bernie Sanders’ grass-roots campaign movement become Hillary Clinton’s main competition in an effort to win the left’s nomination.

But that’s mostly all we in California have done – watch. With the California primary scheduled in June, a lot of the presidential campaign action has already happened by the time we get to vote.

That made one reader unhappy.

Q: Why do we in California vote so late in the primaries that many of the candidates already have dropped out of the race?

Stephen Routh, political science department chair at California State University, Stanislaus, had a relatively simple answer.

A: “When there’s such a big stage with so many people, to have a whole separate election is just too damn expensive.”

Routh, who earned his doctorate at the University of California, Davis, teaches about a wide variety of topics at the Turlock university. Among those subjects is political campaigns and elections.

Repeatedly, Routh said it all falls back on the cost.

Many local elections occur in June, including races for local government and local measures. During a presidential election, it makes sense financially to have one election rather than two.

Elections are expensive. Lots of little things go into them, such as ordering ballots, having poll workers, and ensuring equipment is working properly and accurately.

Late last year and very early this year, top California officials were considering moving the primary election up to March, said Barbara Levey, Merced County’s registrar of voters. Though the primary election remained in June, Levey said her staff had to prepare for the primary as if it would happen in March, just in case.

This year, there aren’t many local elections or measures in June for Merced County. The most competitive races likely will be for Merced County Board of Supervisors seats.

Levey acknowledged that many feel California votes don’t matter in a typical primary election. But this year may be a little different.

“In a lot of contests, it’s looking like we may be a defining factor,” Levey said.

The Merced County Elections Office is expecting a high turnout June 7, an indicator it will be an expensive election, Levey said.

When there’s a state or federal election, local jurisdictions don’t get reimbursed.

“This one’s on us,” Levey said. “In a lot of ways, we are preparing for a big turnout. We absolutely have to. It’s dangerous not to.”

This story was originally published April 10, 2016 at 4:16 PM with the headline "Merced Mysteries & Minutiae: California primary late in the game to cut costs."