Castro Valley Voter Guide: March 2024 Voting Centers, Issues

CASTRO VALLEY, CA —Monday is the final day of early voting for the 2024 presidential primary election in California.

Alameda County Vote Centers are open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Monday, and 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday. You may vote at any center in Alameda County.

The following Vote Centers are open in Castro Valley.

• CASTRO VALLEY LIBRARY, 3600 NORBRIDGE AVE CASTRO VALLEY
• KENNETH C. AITKEN SENIOR CENTER, 17800 REDWOOD ROAD CASTRO VALLEY
• PALOMARES HILLS REC CENTER, 6811 VILLAREAL DR CASTRO VALLEY
• CASTRO VALLEY COMMUNITY CENTER, 18988 LAKE CHABOT ROAD CASTRO VALLEY

Ballot Questions

• California Prop 1: Authorizes $6.5 billion in bonds to build mental health and substance abuse treatment facilities and homeless housing.
• Alameda County Measure A: Proposes changing the county charter to change the notification period of civic service exams from at least 25 days to at least 14 days.
• Alameda County B: Proposes replacing Section 62 of the Alameda County Charter to make California state law govern the recall of elected county officials.

U.S. House District 14

• Eric Swalwell (Democrat, incumbent)
• Alison Hayden (Republican)
• Vin Kruttiventi (Republican)
• Luis Reynoso (Republican)

Alameda County Board of Supervisors District 4:

• Jennifer Esteen
• Nate Miley

Presidential Primary

The primary will decide which candidate gets California's 169 delegates — the largest haul of any state — to the Republican and Democratic national conventions, to be held in July and August, respectively.

There were notable changes to California's primary this year. It moved up from June to Super Tuesday in March with 13 other states.

In California, the political parties determine whether they will have open or closed presidential parties, meaning only the party's registered voters can pick the winning candidates.

The Green Party, the Peace and Freedom Party, and the Republican Party are all holding closed primaries in California

Furthermore, the state's GOP changed the rules to winner-takes-all, so that any candidate who gets a majority wins all of the delegates. Previously, the delegates were divided up based on the number of congressional districts each Republican won.

The change, pushed by the Donald Trump campaign, raises the stakes in California's primary and favors the frontrunner in the Republican primary, which also happens to be Trump.

The American Independent Party, the Democratic Party, and the Libertarian Party hold a modified-closed primary, which means they allow No Party Preference voters to vote in their primaries.

Click here to check your voter and party registration status.

Statewide Primary Elections

All 52 of California's congressional districts will have primary races March 5 along with one U.S. Senate race. With frontrunners Trump and Biden expected to sail to victory in California's presidential primary, the real suspense centers on the Golden State's senate race.

For the senate race, California has an open primary, which means only the top two vote-getters in the primary election, regardless of party affiliation, move on to the general election.

2024 Election: Endorsements And Voter Guides

• CalMatters
• East Bay Times
• Los Angeles Times
• The Orange-County Register
• The San Diego-Union Tribune
• Sacramento Bee
• San Francisco Chronicle
• California Secretary of State Voter Guide
• California Democratic Party Endorsements
• California Republican Party Endorsements

Key 2024 Election Dates In California

Here’s what you need to know about the 2024 election calendar in California:

• Election day is March 5, but early voting centers will open Feb. 24.
• Feb. 5 was the deadline for county officials to begin mailing each registered voter a vote-by-mail ballot.
• The last day to register to vote in the election is Feb. 20. Click here to register to vote.
• Vote-by-mail ballot requests must arrive by February 27, 2024. Check your county election office website to request a vote-by-mail ballot if you have not received one yet.
• All votes must be cast by March 5 and received by election officials by March 12.

Mail-in voters in California now have a way to track their ballots to make sure their votes are counted. The California Secretary of State is now offering Where’s My Ballot? for voters to track and receive notifications on the status of their vote-by-mail ballot.

With Where’s My Ballot? Voters who sign up will receive notices via email, text, or voice message from the county elections official regarding the status of the voter's vote-by-mail ballot including:

• When the ballot has been delivered
• The date that the voter's ballot is expected to be delivered to the voter
• If the voter's ballot is returned as undeliverable to the county elections official by the USPS
• When the voter's completed ballot has been received by the county
• Whether the voter's completed ballot has been accepted or a reason why the ballot could not be accepted and instructions of steps the voter can take in order to have the ballot accepted
• The deadline for the voter to return his or her ballot if the county has not received a voter's completed ballot by specified dates as determined by the county elections officials