by Lucas O'Connor [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]

Tomorrow's the big day (depending on your perspective I suppose), with local, legislative and proposition votes going on all over the state and the Montana and South Dakota primaries wrapping up the Presidential calendar.  There's speculation that Sen. Clinton will suspend her campaign tomorrow night, plus an easy dozen congressional primaries to watch, the Leno/Migden/Nation battle royale, I'm masochistically fascinated by the San Diego mayoral race- the list goes on.

It looks like I'll be holing up for a bit at the Obama watch party at the W Hotel here in San Diego. I've also heard that local Young Dems will be at The Shore Club and City Council candidate Todd Gloria will be gathering with supporters at The Local. So that's a random and incomplete collection of spots around San Diego...What city/bar/restaurant/corner of your house will you be reporting from as we all obsess tomorrow evening?

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By Debra Bowen
California Secretary of State

Each election, Californians see snapshots of what makes our democracy tick. Candidates. Initiative measures. Campaign commercials. Voter registration drives. Ballots and the machines that count them.

One crucial element that’s often overlooked is the contribution from the state’s largest one-day volunteer work force: the 100,000 men and women who serve on the front lines of democracy as poll workers.

Teenagers and senior citizens, professionals and retirees, people of all backgrounds come together to ensure all of the more than 23,000 polling places across California are staffed on Election Day. Poll workers make voting easier and they protect our ballots until they are delivered to county election officials.

For their valuable service, poll workers take home modest stipends. But they walk away with so much more – a sense of community, a chance to reconnect with neighbors and friends, first-hand experience with democracy, and personal satisfaction.

We couldn’t have made the February 5 presidential primary a success without poll workers. And now we need their help again, and yours too.

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By Kim Alexander
President and Founder
California Voter Foundation

With another statewide election just around the corner, the California Voter Foundation (CVF) today released its new California Online Voter Guide, providing nonpartisan information on state candidates and measures.

Since 1994, CVF has produced the online guides to help Californians prepare to cast an informed ballot. The guide is now in its sixteenth edition.

This year, California’s primary election was split, resulting in three statewide elections in 2008. The Presidential primary was held in February. On June 3rd, legislative and congressional primaries will determine which candidates face off in the November General election.

The races are highly competitive in a number of districts, with contested primaries in 21 of the state’s 53 congressional districts, 8 of the 20 State Senate districts, and 28 of the 80 Assembly districts.

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By Sara S. Nichols

People need to start recognizing that Obama is the best nominee, not just because he is more likely to beat McCain in November, but because he is more likely to beat him big, bring new voters into the process, thereby positively affecting the downticket races.

Donna Edwards is the first exciting case in point. Yesterday, Democrat Donna Edwards (who happens to be a former Congress Watch colleague of mine) pulled off a stunning upset against 6 term incumbent congressman Al Wynn (D-Maryland) in Maryland's fourth congressional district (a hybrid of Montgomery and Prince Georges Counties in suburban DC).

The margin of victory? 20%! Completely unheard of for a primary challenge against an incumbent not currently under indictment. Hmmm...Who else won his Maryland Democratic primary by 20% on Tuesday?

Three guesses and the first two wear bold colored pantsuits.

This is no joke. Maryland's appear to be the first congressional primaries of the year (February is very early). Donna is part of a slate of Democratic challengers across the country running against Democrats who supported the war and continued military buildup. And she won, not a little bit, but huge, with the exact same margin of victory as Obama.