Politically speaking, this is a big year. Californians will help elect numerous federal and state leaders in November, including the president. And locally Oaklanders will be voting for members of the City Council, Oakland school board, and the powerful county Board of Supervisors, among other roles. There are also activists running recall campaigns hoping to remove local public officials—if they can get enough signatures to get on the ballot. Crime and safety, housing and homelessness, and other pressing issues are top of many voters’ minds.
But before the biggest decisions are made in November there’s another election—the March 5 Primary. That’s right, just over a month from now Oaklanders will have a chance to weigh in on key races and ballot measures.
This guide is to help Oakland residents understand what’s on the March Primary ballot, how voting works in this election, how to register and take part, and much more. Feel like this guide is missing something? Let us know and we’ll update it.
What’s this primary election all about?
Are we using ranked-choice voting?
How do I register to vote? What are other ways to participate?
Where’s my ballot and where do I vote?
What’s on the March Primary Election ballot?
What’s this primary election all about?
Primary elections aren’t used to make final decisions. Instead, think of them as being more like the playoffs in a sports league—primaries are a contest that whittles down the field of candidates, selecting the top vote-getters to face off in the general election that normally takes place in the fall.
In California, our primary election rules are spelled out in the “Top Two Candidates Open Primary Act,” a ballot initiative approved by voters in 2010. Under these rules, a voter gets to choose any candidate running for any office, regardless of the voter’s political party affiliation. This is different from the previous system in which voters had to be registered with a Democratic Party preference to vote for Democratic candidates. Same for Republicans, the Green Party, etc.
This rule doesn’t apply to two offices—the United States President and the central committees of each political party. Central committees are the governing bodies of the political parties, making decisions like official party endorsements. In these races, in the primary election, you can only vote for a candidate whose political party matches your party affiliation. But there’s one more wrinkle to this rule; if you are registered to vote with “no party preference” you can vote in the American Independent Party, Democratic Party, and Libertarian Party primaries, but you’ll need to request a ballot with one of these three party options on it.
In a way, these rules make California’s primary system pretty simple. Register to vote, then pick your favorite candidate in the primary, regardless of what party they represent, and hope they make it to November. But there’s an added layer of complexity that has to do with the different types of offices the candidates are running for.
Party-nominated vs. voter-nominated vs. nonpartisan offices
California breaks different political offices into three categories. The first is the aforementioned U.S. President and political party central committee offices. These are what’s known as “party-nominated” offices because it’s the political parties that control who gets to run, and who can vote for the candidates.
For party-nominated offices, there are usually multiple candidates from each political party vying for a spot on the November general election ballot. The top vote-getters in the primary election from each party advance to the general election to face the top candidates selected from the other parties’ races.
Next are “voter-nominated” offices. These include positions in state and federal government such as governor and state assemblymember, and federal positions like U.S. senator and member of the House of Representatives. In the primary, voters can pick whoever they want, regardless of party affiliations, but a candidate’s party membership is still listed alongside their name on the ballot. Only the top two vote-getters in the primary election advance to the general election. This means that smaller parties aren’t guaranteed to have a candidate on the ballot. In fact, the two candidates who might face off in the general election could even be members of the same party.
Finally, there are “nonpartisan” offices. These are local positions in government, from the county to the city and school district. For people who want to run for Alameda County Board of Supervisors or the county Board of Education, party affiliations don’t matter. Voters can pick whoever they want in the primary.
For nonpartisan offices, again, only the top two vote-getters in the primary election advance to the general election.
The Alameda League of Women Voters has put together one of the better visual explainers for this system in a slide deck you can view here. Also see page 17 of the official state voter guide, or the Secretary of State’s website.
Are we using ranked-choice voting?
Not in the primary.
Oakland utilizes ranked-choice voting to pick its mayor, councilmembers, school board directors, and other city officials. One of the reasons the city uses ranked-choice is because it makes a primary election unnecessary. This is why you won’t see city of Oakland positions like councilmember and school board director on the primary ballot.
Instead of holding a primary and picking the top two vote-getters to run against each other in the general election, Oakland simply holds a general election in which ranked choice voting allows voters to rank their favorite candidates from most to least preferred. When these votes are tallied, it’s like having a primary and general election runoff all in one.
How do I register to vote? What are other ways to participate?
Registering to vote is easy. You can register to vote online at the Secretary of State’s website, and the form is available in nine different languages.
You can also pick up a paper registration form from the Alameda County Registrar of Voters office in the Rene C. Davidson Courthouse, 1225 Fallon Street, Room G1 in downtown Oakland.
There are a few requirements to register:
- You must be a California resident and U.S. citizen
- Age 18 or older
- Not currently serving a state or federal prison term for a felony, or found mentally incompetent by a court
Things you’ll need to complete the registration process:
- Your state ID card or driver’s license
- The last four digits of your social security number
- Your birth date
The deadline to register is always 15 days before an election. For the March 5 Primary, this is Feb. 20.
Politics isn’t only about voting. You can also support candidates and ballot measures by contributing money to a campaign committee. Candidates and campaigners who are backing ballot measures form campaign committees to pay for things like advertising, voter outreach and education, and events. There are rules to how much money candidates can raise, who they can accept money from, and how they can spend it.
Oakland voters also approved a plan two years ago to level the campaign finance playing field. Called “Democracy Dollars,” the city plans to send $100 vouchers to all voters to give to candidates and campaigns they support. But because of budget constraints, Democracy Dollars won’t be available for voters to use in 2024.
Lots of political organizations, clubs, and community groups get involved in the elections by issuing endorsements. This is often done after a group carefully considers all the candidates and measures on the ballot. And a lot of these groups hold endorsement meetings and candidate debates that are open to the public, either in person or on Zoom.
Where’s my ballot and how do I vote?
If you registered to vote before January then you’ll probably receive an official voter information guide from the county registrar, the office that handles elections. Next, the registrar will mail ballots to every registered voter. And starting on Feb. 5, people can vote.
Alameda County is a Voters Choice Act county, meaning the registrar of voters has made it a lot easier to vote by extending the number of days voters can send in ballots by mail or vote in person at a voting center.
Voting by mail is easy:
- Fill out your ballot and then drop it off in any secure drop box by Mar. 5. The registrar has set up drop boxes around the county. Here’s a map
- Or, drop your filled-in ballot off at a voting center by Mar. 5
If you’re voting in person, it used to be that you had to vote at your precinct—a specific place near your home. Now, you can vote at any voting center in the county.
- Voting centers will open up starting on Feb. 24—11 days before Election Day
The registrar keeps track of other important dates and deadlines on its website.
You can sign up with the Ballottrax service to track your ballot as it’s delivered through the mail and handled by the registrar of voters.
Voting is a right—you have the right to get voting materials in a language other than English, the right to vote in secret without anyone bothering you, the right to vote if you’re already waiting in line at a voting center when the polls close, and other rights—and if anyone interferes with your rights, you can report this to the Secretary of State’s voter hotline (800) 345-VOTE.
What’s on the March Primary Election ballot?
There are several important ballot measures and a state proposition, in addition to dozens of candidates who are running for federal, state, and local offices. We haven’t included everything here that might be on your ballot—different parts of Oakland fall into different state, city, and county districts that determine who your representatives are and what you get to vote for. You should closely read your voter guide when it arrives to get a look at everything else on your ballot.
Ballot measures and propositions
- Proposition 1 is a state initiative that would do two things. First, it’s a bond that would raise up to $6.38 billion for behavioral health treatment and residential facilities, and supportive housing for people with mental health challenges who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. It would also change how funding from the Mental Health Services Act is spent. CalMatters has a useful guide to Prop 1
- Measure B is a county ballot measure that would swap out the county’s existing rules for the recall of an elected official and use the state’s rules instead. This could impact the campaign that’s underway attempting to recall District Attorney Pamela Price
- Measure D is a city ballot measure that would allow Oakland to continue to spend the tax revenue it’s already collecting from multiple parcel taxes
Party nominated offices
Remember, if your registration status is something other than “no party preference,” you can only vote for candidates who align with your particular party preference in these races. For example, if you wanted to vote for Nikki Haley in the Republican Presidential Primary, you’d have to be registered to vote as a Republican. If you are registered with no party preference, you can ask for a ballot with options for the American Independent Party, Democratic Party, or Libertarian Party candidates.
- United States President
- Alameda County Democratic Central Committee
- Alameda County Republican Central Committee
Voter nominated offices
- United States Senator: This is a little confusing because there are two elections happening. One is to fill the rest of Dianne Feinstein’s unexpired term until January 2025, and the other is to elect the new senator who will represent California for the next six years in Washington
- United States Representative, 12th Congressional District
- State Senator, 7th District
- State Assemblymember, 14th District
- State Assemblymember, 18th District
Nonpartisan offices
- Alameda County Supervisor, District 4
- Alameda County Supervisor, District 5
- Oakland City Auditor: This is an election to fill the unexpired term of Courtney Ruby, who left the auditor’s post last October to take another job in San Diego
- Superior Court Judges
- Alameda County Board of Education, Area 2
We’ll have more in-depth coverage about some of these key campaigns in the coming weeks, including the county Board of Supervisors races, county Board of Education, and more.
Correction: California’s primary voting rules allow for “no party preference” registered voters to vote in the primaries for either the American Independent Party, Democratic Party, or Libertarian Party.
