Dana Point Voter Guide: What's On The Ballot, Voting & More

DANA POINT, CA — The 2024 presidential primary election season in California is officially underway, but the real excitement in California comes in the form of down-ballot races, including the race for congressional districts across Orange County.

The election is March 5; most residents already have their mail-in ballots in hand.

With presidential frontrunners former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden expected to win their nominations handily, all eyes in California are on the hotly contested primary race for the seat vacated by the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein as well as a slew of local races.

Locally, Orange County voters will decide who they want to represent them in the state assembly and their respective congressional districts.

Here's a run-down on the races for the 2024 primary election season in Orange County.

California State Assembly Races

Members of the California State Assembly are responsible for passing bills on public policy matters, setting levels for state spending, raising and lowering taxes and voting to uphold or override gubernatorial vetoes, according to Ballotpedia.

The State Assembly is comprised of 80 members, and all members serve for a two-year term, with no more than three terms permitted.

Across Orange County, residents will vote to determine who they want to represent them in the State Assembly.

Assembly District 71

AD-71 includes Orange and Riverside counties. Cities included within the district include Ladera Ranch, Mission Viejo and Rancho Santa Margarita. Come March 5, voters will decide between three candidates: incumbent Assemblymember Kate Sanchez, Murrieta Businessman Babar Khan and software engineer Gary Kephart.

To learn more about Kate Sanchez, Babar Khan and Gary Kephart, visit the candidates' websites.

Assembly District 72

AD-72, in just Orange County, includes Aliso Viejo, Huntington Beach, Laguna Beach, Lake Forest and Newport Beach. Come March 5, voters will decide between incumbent Assemblymember Diane Dixon, of Newport Beach, and Dom Jones, a Huntington Beach businesswoman and television host.

To learn more about Diane Dixon and Dom Jones, visit the candidates' websites.

Assembly District 73

AD-73, just in Orange County, includes Costa Mesa, Irvine and Tustin. Come March 5, voters will decide between incumbent Assemblymember Cottie Petrie-Norris, Irvine-based architect and businessman Scott Peotter and Hengameh "Henny" Abraham, a Costa Mesa educator.

To learn more about Scotty Peotter, Cottie Petrie-Norris and Hengameh "Henny" Abraham, visit the candidates' websites.

Assembly District 74

AD-74 includes San Diego and Orange counties, including Dana Point, Laguna Niguel and San Juan Capistrano. Come March 5, voters will decide between incumbent Assemblymember Laurie Davies and San Clemente City Councilmember and business owner Chris Duncan.

To learn more about Laurie Davies and Chris Duncan, visit the candidates' websites.

Senate Races

In Orange County, voters living in Senate District 37 will decide who they want to represent them in the State Senate. Incumbent Senator David Min will be exiting his role as he runs for Katie Porter's seat as a representative in California's 47th congressional district.

SD-37, only in Orange County, includes the cities of Fullerton, Irvine, Laguna Niguel, Laguna Woods, Lake Forest, Orange, Placentia, Santa Ana, Tustin, Villa Park and Yorba Linda.

Nine candidates are vying for Min's seat, including:

• Small business owner Gabrielle Ashbaugh;
• Irvine-based businessman and educator Steven Choi;
• Neurosurgical technologist Leticia Correa;
• Surgical coordinator Jacob Niles Creer;
• Irvine-based businessman Anthony Kuo;
• Medical authorization coordinator Stephanie Le;
• Villa Park Councilmember Crystal Miles;
• Community organizer Alex Mohajer and
• State Senator Josh Newman.

Congressional Races

Members of Congress represent the people of their district in the United States Congress by holding hearings, as well as developing and voting on laws. The position is vital, as all bills must pass Congress before they can go to the President to be signed into law.

Across Orange County, residents will vote to determine who they want to represent them in the United States Congress.

Congressional District 40

CA-40, including western San Bernardino and Riverside counties and eastern Orange County, including Mission Viejo, Villa Park and Yorba Linda. Come March 5, voters will decide incumbent Representative Young Kim, President of the Tustin Unified School Board Allyson Muñiz Damikolas and retired firefighter captain Joe Kerr, of Coto de Caza.

To learn more about Young Kim, Allyson Muñiz Damikolas and Joe Kerr, visit the candidates' websites.

Congressional District 47

Including Huntington Beach, Irvine, Laguna Beach, Newport Beach and Costa Mesa. In this hotly-contested race, voters will decide between a total of 10 candidates all vying for current Representative Katie Porter's seat.

Porter will exit the position as she pursues a seat on the United States Senate.

Here's a run-down on the 10 candidates running for CD-47.

• Huntington Beach businessman Scott Baugh;
• Irvine CEO and economics professor Terry Crandall;
• Huntington Beach senior chemical engineer Tom McGrath;
• State Senator Dave Min, of Irvine;
• Newport Beach nuclear engineer Long Pham;
• Laguna Beach real estate broker and publisher Boyd Roberts;
• Retired general counsel Bill Smith, of Irvine;
• Costa Mesa business owner Max Ukropina;
• Newport Beach voting rights advocate Joanna Weiss and;
• Security officer Shariq Zaidi.

Presidential Primary

With the presidential preference primary happening March 5th, most Golden State residents already have their mail-in ballots in hand.

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.

All three top contenders have been stumping in California. President Joe Biden and Republican contender Nikki Haley visited Southern California earlier this month. Biden is slated to return Feb. 20 for a series of campaign events in the Los Angeles area. GOP frontrunner Donald Trump campaigned in the Golden State days after skipping the Republican debate in September.

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.

All election season, polls have shown Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank) in the lead with former Los Angeles Dodger Steve Garvey (R), Rep. Katie Porter (D-Irvine ), and Rep. Barbara Lee (Oakland) vying for second place to make it into the general election.

According to a California Elections and Policy Poll released in February, Porter and Garvey are deadlocked in the race for second place.

Schiff went into February far in the lead with 25 percent of likely voters while Porter and Garvey, each garnered support from 15 percent of likely voters. Lee was polling in fourth place at 7 percent of the vote, according to the poll.

It's been decades since a Republican won statewide office in California, and that may be why the Schiff campaign is expending considerable capital to raise Garvey's profile among Republican voters through a series of expensive Fox News ads, touting him as too conservative for California.

Garvey, with just over $300,000 in his war chest, can't afford such ads.

Porter blasted the tactic as a “brazenly cynical” bid for Schiff to handpick his opponent in the general election, counting on deep blue California to reject any statewide Republican candidate in the general election.

According to Politico, Porter and Schiff booked a staggering $25 million in airtime. Schiff has nabbed the bulk of the Democratic establishment endorsements such as Nancy Pelosi, United Farm Workers and the Los Angeles Times editorial board. Porter, a darling of progressives, garnered endorsements from Sen. Elizabeth Warren, CA Attorney General Rob Bonta, and consumer advocacy groups.

The senate candidates are:

• Sharleta Bassett (R)
• James P. Bradley (R)
• Eric Early (R)
• Steve Garvey (R)
• Denice Gary-Pandol (R)
• Laura Garza (No party preference)
• Sepi Gilani (D)
• Don Grundmann (No party preference)
• Forrest Jones (American Independent Party of California)
• Harmesh Kumar (D)
• Barbara Lee (D)
• Sarah Sun Liew (R)
• Gail Lightfoot (L)
• James Macauley (R)
• Christina Pascucci (D)
• David Peterson (D)
• Douglas Howard Pierce (D)
• Katie Porter (D)
• Perry Pound (D)
• Raji Rab (D)
• Jonathan Reiss (R)
• John Rose (D)
• Mark Ruzon (No party preference)
• Adam Schiff (D)
• Stefan Simchowitz (R)
• Major Singh (No party preference)
• Martin Veprauskas (R)
• Eduardo Berdugo (Independent) (Write-in)
• Danny Fabricant (R) (Write-in)
• Roxanne Lawler (R) (Write-in)

How To Vote

California voters have three options to vote.

Mail in ballot: Voters can mail in the ballots they received in the mail by signing them, sealing them and placing them in either a mailbox or an approved drop box. Approved drop box locations are listed on county websites. Google “drop box locations” and your county, and a list should pop up.

Early voting: Each county will have at least one location where voters can vote in person or drop off ballots at least 10 days before primary election day. See here to find your nearest early voting location.

Traditional in-person voting: Polls will open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on March 5. See here to find your polling location. Polling locations will also be mailed to voters with their ballots.

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

Patch Staffer Michael Wittner contributed to this report.