California
Are ‘ballot selfies’ allowed at California voting sites?
Tips for coping with election stress
In a recent poll by the American Psychological Association, 69% of adults cited the upcoming election as a significant source of stress in their lives.
OAKLAND, Calif. – You’re at your polling place. You’re excited about taking part in the democratic process. You want to document the moment and perhaps share it on social media. Can you take a selfie at your polling place?
In California, the short answer is, “Yes.”
But as long as you do not violate any other law. And elections officials and poll workers ultimately have the discretion to prohibit the selfie if they determine the action is causing disruption that requires a response.
SEE ALSO: Nearly 50% of voters say deepfakes had some influence on election decision: Survey
State elections officials also note that the photos cannot result in the unauthorized sharing of and use of information relating to how a person has voted.
They also stress that taking photos at the polling place cannot compromise the privacy of other voters casting a ballot.
In addition, it’s illegal to intimidate other voters or interfere with the elections process or with the duties of elections workers.
So-called “ballot selfies” haven’t always been legal in California, and they’re not legal in all states.
California’s law changed on Jan. 1, 2017, allowing voters to “voluntarily disclose how he or she voted if that voluntary act does not violate any other law.”
Prior to that, the Secretary of State’s office historically took the position that the use of cameras and video equipment at polling places was prohibited.
Here’s a look at activities banned at California polling sites:
- DO NOT ask a person to vote for or against any candidate or ballot measure.
- DO NOT display a candidate’s name, image, or logo.
- DO NOT block access to or loiter near any ballot drop boxes.
- DO NOT provide any material or audible information for or against any candidate or ballot measure near any polling place, vote center, or ballot drop box.
- DO NOT circulate any petitions, including for initiatives, referenda, recall, or candidate nominations.
- DO NOT distribute, display, or wear any clothing (hats, shirts, signs, buttons, stickers) that include a candidate’s name, image, logo, and/or support or oppose any candidate or ballot measure.
- DO NOT display information or speak to a voter about the voter’s eligibility to vote.
- DO NOT engage in electioneering; photograph or record a voter entering or exiting a polling place; or obstruct ingress, egress, or parking
California is also one of about a dozen states and Washington, D.C. that has a complete ban on guns at polling sites, either open or concealed.
As for what voters should bring when going to cast their ballot, in some, but not most cases, a California voter may be required to show identification, according to the Secretary of State’s office.
Voters casting their ballot for the first time after mailing in their registration to vote may need to show proof of ID if they did not provide their driver’s license number, California identification number or the last four digits of their social security number on their registration form.
Here’s a list of acceptable forms of voter identification to use at polling places.
KTVU has compiled a comprehensive California voter guide with key information and election-related dates to help ensure your vote counts.
You can also find a link to our 2024 Election coverage here, where you can find information about candidates as well as state and local ballot measures.
California
California GOP delegates on LGBT issues, LA decline, Medicaid fraud | Fox News Video
California GOP delegates Roxanne Hoge and Elizabeth Barcohana join Trace Gallagher to discuss multiple issues impacting California.
California GOP delegates Roxanne Hoge and Elizabeth Barcohana dissect the state’s pressing issues with Trace Gallagher. They criticize the SF Giants’ ‘Pride Night’ controversy and players’ right to religious expression. The delegates also discuss Los Angeles’s economic decline and Sacramento’s expensive homeless campsite, highlighting concerns about over-regulation and social issues. They conclude by addressing California’s large-scale Medicaid fraud, suggesting a lack of accountability.
California
California Central Valley city’s first-ever Pride event moves indoors after pushback
Oakdale’s first Pride event is moving forward this weekend after organizers changed venues following pushback over its original location and a planned drag performance.
Some residents pushed back over the event’s original location at Dorada Park and a planned drag performance.
“I also understand staff has issued a permit for a so-called Pride event,” one speaker said during the latest City Council meeting.
Another speaker raised concerns about the event being advertised as open to all ages, including children, and having a drag queen host.
After the public pushback, organizers moved the event indoors to the Bianchi Center.
“It was a huge upgrade to be able to provide a more accessible space in the heart of Oakdale,” said Ryan Hall, president of CalPride.
Hall said the idea to bring Pride to the city did not come from outside Oakdale, it came from people living there.
“That’s my place as a mom of rainbow kids, absolutely,” said Elizabeth May, owner of Sisters Coffee.
May’s coffee shop hosts a monthly LGBTQ+ social.
“I had a young man walk in here and say, ‘We don’t have anywhere to have a social here for LGBTQ.’ I said, ‘Heck yes,’” May said.
Still, the backlash has left parents like May concerned.
“How does it feel? Scary. I’m excited, but as a mom of a kid in the community, I’m nervous for them,” May said.
May said the venue change helped ease some of the tension.
“The different venue made a win-win situation for everyone. I was very proud of the kids for making that hard decision,” May said.
For organizers, the drag performance is part of the celebration.
“Enjoy some line dancing, enjoy some live music, enjoy the drag show, and then also enjoy community members and our local businesses, our local artists and partner organizations,” Hall said.
Oakdale Pride is scheduled for Sunday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Entry is free.
California
Newsom urges a national ‘billionaires’ tax’ while fighting one in California
California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat who is considering a run for president as he approaches the end of his term, called for a national “billionaires’ tax” on Friday even as he fights another proposal targeting the wealthy in his home state.
Newsom also said the U.S. government should own a stake in artificial intelligence companies. His proposals, outlined in a Substack post, aligns him with the Democratic Party’s populist left, and he argued that urgent changes are needed to prevent the elite concentration of wealth and power from undermining democracy.
“It’s time for an economic reset for America,” Newsom wrote.
The governor announced his agenda a day after an influential health care union in California pledged to go forward with a ballot measure that would impose a one-time 5% tax on the assets of billionaires living in the state as of Jan. 1, 2026.
Newsom opposes that measure, as do many of the liberal interest groups that typically favor higher taxes. They fear it would drive billionaires out of California, eroding the state’s tax base over the long term for a one-time influx of cash. A technology mecca, California has more billionaires than any other state — a few hundred, by some estimates.
“You may not be able to pick up and move to Texas or Florida to shelter your income from taxation, but I promise you that billionaires can, and do,” Newsom wrote. “Wealth is movable, and it shops for the state with the lowest taxes. The fight belongs at the federal level, where this broken system was created in the first place.”
A minimum tax on large net worths
Newsom said the solution is a new national tax policy, rather than a state-by-state system. He proposed a minimum tax on anyone with a net worth above $100 million. He also wants to make it illegal for the wealthy to borrow against their stock portfolios to fund their luxury lifestyles tax free.
Newsom said there should be new rules for inheritance taxes, warning that “the transfer of wealth among the ultra-wealthy will lock in a permanent American aristocracy of inherited wealth.” And he wants to raise corporate tax rates to where they were before President Donald Trump’s first-term tax cut.
READ MORE: Sanders and Newsom clash over proposed tax on California’s billionaires
The need is especially urgent as artificial intelligence threatens to displace workers and further concentrate wealth, he wrote.
“We need to ensure every American owns a stake in the future being built by AI through a national public equity fund that takes a major stake in the new economy,” he wrote. “Simply, as artificial intelligence reshapes the country, every American should own a piece of the future it builds.”
Revenue generated by his proposals could be used to retrain workers, fund universal child care, make college free and increase funding for health care.
‘Money buys influence’
Newsom, who has drawn attention as one of Trump’s most high-profile political antagonists, is getting an early start on laying out a policy framework for his potential White House bid months before the midterm elections, which have typically marked the informal start of overt presidential campaigning.
WATCH: News Wrap: Newsom says Trump ordering DOJ to investigate him and wife
The embrace of a wealth tax by Newsom, a moderate on tax policy despite his liberal reputation, signals a notable shift in the political landscape since Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren struggled to get traction in her 2020 campaign, which she largely centered around a 2% levy wealth tax.
Newsom portrayed the nation’s tax code as a corrupt system built to help an elite few.
“Money buys influence, and influence rewrites the rules,” he wrote. “Those rewritten rules funnel even more wealth to the few. Under this weight, democracy itself starts to buckle.”
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