by Bob Brigham [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]

While the California Republican Party is busy defending tax breaks for yacht owners, Democrats are busy working to decrease barriers to voting and increase participation in democracy. The California Democratic Party Platform even talks about increasing participation:

To promote honest leadership and open government, California Democrats will:

[...]

• Increase voter participation by advocating for extended voting hours and/or days, scheduling elections on weekends, or by declaring Election Day a holiday

While I agree that would be great, the current perspective of the CDP Platform is to seek increases in the percentage of participation among registered voters. Yet there is even greater potential to increase voter participation by reforming barriers to voter registration. This is the premise behind recent national legislation by Democrats in Congress and a bill by Assemblyman Curren Price for California.

These are two pieces of legislation that deserve to be followed closely, which means you'll probably need to follow on the blogs as so far both reforms have been largely ignored by traditional media.

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By Frank D. Russo

The California Secretary of State issued an update of voter registration figures late yesterday that bode very well for Democratic gains in the November election and show the state is turning even more Democratic from the level of the State Assembly to the Presidential race. There’s an increase in the overall percentage of Californians registered to vote and the trend goes one way—blue.

In January, at the close of registration just before the February 5, 2008 Presidential Primary, California Democrats had a 10 point advantage over Republicans, 43% to 33%. This has now increased to a 10.7% margin as Democrats picked up their percentage of registrants and are now 43.5% compared with Republicans who dropped to 32.8%.

This shows that even after the Presidential Primary, which has seen tremendous enthusiasm and growth in the Democratic Party, not only here in California but across the nation, there is a clear trend favoring the Democrats. It isn’t just the presidential race that is driving these numbers.

But even more significantly, there are gains in key state legislative districts where past elections have been close.

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By Art Torres
Chair
California Democratic Party

[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

With the state's DNC delegate selection process reaching record levels of attendance, you had to know a statement from CDP Chair Art Torres was coming. Here it is:

"Since I became Chair of our great Party in 1996, I have never seen such an incredible outpouring of Democratic activists at congressional district-level delegate selection caucuses. More than 23,000 Democrats showed up Sunday afternoon to support more than 2,500 candidates vying for 241 slots.
 
We should be proud of California Democrats for recognizing what is at stake for our state, our nation and our world in this Presidential election.
 
Not everyone can attend the Democratic National Convention this year, but everyone can participate from now until Election Day on November 4, 2008 to help elect a Democratic President.

There's more...

[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

From all reports, it appears that the district level delegate elections shattered records for turnout -- another sign of strength for California Democrats.

Here in Sacramento, I won the CD 5 male slot for Hillary Clinton, and my running mate Karen Skelton won the female slot. Fellow CMR co-publisher Roger Salazar won a spot as an alternate in CD 3, with Dennis Mangers winning the delegate position.

The CDP is expected to publish the full list of winners on its website in the next 24 hours.

Thanks to everyone who participated.

[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

Now that the Obama campaign has reversed itself and reinstated the full slate of candidates running for delegate slots across the state, the positive energy for California Democrats in the delegate selection process is flowing once again.

In a statement last night, CDP Chairman Art Torres praised the Obama campaign for allowing the competitive races for the coveted 241 delegate slots to continue with full slates of Congress, saying it will strengthen the party Torres is right.

The record number of delegate candidates is yet another sign of the surge in interest in this year's presidential election. And despite a recent mini-surge in popularity for John McCain, there's little doubt California will be true blue come November. These district caucuses are yet another step in tapping the enthusiasm of both campaigns.

There's more...

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By Art Torres
Chair
California Democratic Party

This Sunday, April 13, you get to pick the delegates who will be sent from California to the Democratic National Convention in Denver next August. Whether you support Sen. Hillary Clinton or Sen. Barack Obama, you'll have a chance to determine who goes to Denver and who watches on TV.

The caucuses to elect the delegates will take place everywhere in the state at 3:00 p.m., with sign-in starting at 2:00 p.m. Every aspect of the 2008 Democratic presidential race has generated lots of enthusiasm and excitement, so we expect that these caucuses will be very well attended. That's why we're trying something new this year.

The California Democratic Party has put up a widget on our website where you can go to pre-register for the caucuses. All you have to do is go to www.cadem.org and look on the right-hand side -- then just fill in the blanks and follow the prompts. You can cut down on the long lines and help out the campaign volunteers who are staging these events by taking this simple step ahead of time. The deadline for pre-registration is Thursday, April 10th at 12:00 Noon.

For more information about the caucuses, please check our website: