A UCSB Student Voter’s Guide to the Upcoming June 7 California Primary

Elly Schram 

Campus Beat Reporter

This June 7 California Primary election, you have the ability to voice their concerns and opinions through voting. Registering to vote is essential to this practice and helps you make sure you are heard when decisions that affect your community are being made. With the upcoming primary election, The Bottom Line has gathered the resources needed to walk eligible UC Santa Barbara students through the voting process, such as how to update your voter registration, research on the candidates on your ballot, and more.

While everyone is automatically registered to vote upon turning 18, students should update their voter registration if you have moved, changed your name, changed your signature, or if you wish to change your political party preference. 

As a student, if you were previously registered to vote in your hometown and wish to vote in Santa Barbara County or on campus at UCSB, you should update your voter registration before the upcoming election. If you are unsure about your voter registration, you can check your registration status or change your registration online. 

Once you check your voter registration, it will let you know what county you are registered to vote in. If you need to change this, it will take you to a page where you can re-register. This requires four easy steps: verifying that you are a U.S. citizen, inputting your personal information, answering questions about voting preferences, and then reviewing the application and submitting it. 

Every active California registered voter will receive a vote-by-mail ballot before the election. This is another reason why it is important to update your address if it has changed. You can mail this ballot in on or before election day. You can also take your ballot to an in-person voting location, a secure ballot box, or the main county elections office. 

There will be several polling places in the area, including UCSB’s Robertson Gym, St. Mark’s University Roman Catholic Church in Isla Vista (I.V.), the I.V. Community Center, UCSB’s Santa Cruz Hall, and more.

Each in-person voting location will offer voter registration and replacement ballots if needed. You can also complete a voter registration card at the Santa Barbara County elections office. If you are unsure about where to go to vote in person, the California Elections website allows you to look up which polling place is the nearest to you.

While elections may not appear to be very exciting, it is important that UCSB students know how the election could affect them. 

A position up for election is I.V.’s second district county supervisor. There are five county supervisors that make up the board of supervisors for Santa Barbara County. The board is in charge of setting policies for the county, overseeing the county budget, adopting ordinances, and establishing land-use policies. It is essential to do research on the candidates for this position as their future decisions will directly affect I.V. and our community. 

Another notable position up for election is the state superintendent of public instruction. They are responsible for enforcing education regulations and improving public school programs and education. This position can and will affect the policies we have to follow as students attending UCSB, a public university. 

There are many other important elected offices to be filled by this election. The primary election ballot will include: governor and lieutenant governor, secretary of state, controller, treasurer, attorney general, I.V.’s second district county supervisor, insurance commissioner, state Board of Equalization members, state superintendent of public instruction, U.S. representatives and U.S. senators in Congress, state senators, and state assembly members. There will be the regularly scheduled election for the full six-year term that starts Jan. 3, 2023, and there will be a separate election for the remainder of the current term that begins in November. 

It is important to do your research on who you are voting for before the election. To view the official certified list of candidates for the election, visit this website. It includes the name of the candidate, the position the candidate is running for, and the political party that the candidate is running with.