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It might not be a presidential year, but your vote in the California primary election can affect your daily life.

This year’s June primary in California includes candidates for U.S. Senate, governor, secretary of state, treasurer and influential Sacramento County offices, such as district attorney and sheriff.

In the past two years, people are becoming more aware of the great influence that local governments have over their lives, said Kim Alexander, president of the California Voter Foundation, a non-partisan and nonprofit group that works to improve voting processes. She cited the pandemic and how the county enforced mask mandates, and controversies with police activity and law enforcement interactions with the public.

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Choosing your local and state officials can have a big effect on your quality of life.

“There’s this perception that the most important vote you cast is for president, but it’s actually the opposite,” Alexander said. “... I think it’s actually bottom up: the people who represent you on your school board, on your city council, on the SMUD board, on your county board of supervisors.

“Those are the people who will have the ability to make decisions that have the greatest impact on the kind of city you live in, the kind of public transportation access you have, the kind of schools that your kids attend.”

Not only will these elected officials impact regulations in California, they also represent the state of California in the Senate and House of Representatives, said Janna Haynes, public information officer for Sacramento County and its election office. “They are the ones that help shape what happens to the nation,” she said. (Full Story)