Registrar of Voters

Turning the Tide of Turnout

The county projects a pathetically low turnout for tomorrow’s gubernatorial primary election—despite one unique effort. But based on the numbers I’m looking at, it’s going to be even worse in Santa Clara County than our Registrar of Voters (ROV) predicts, particularly here in San Jose. Over the past three gubernatorial primaries, the county has experienced steadily increasing voter turnout, rising from 34 percent in 2002 to 37 percent in 2006—the last open race for San Jose mayor.

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Weed for Votes Legal?

With the primary election just four days away, a unique rock-the-vote effort is taking place in San Jose. Silicon Valley Cannabis Coalition (SVCC) announced Friday that certain medical marijuana collectives in town will offer free and reduced-priced pot for proof of voting. So, quick question: Is this legal?

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Recycling Petition Accused of Misleading Signers; Intends to Repeal EPS Ban

A lobbyist-funded ballot initiative will attempt to overturn San Jose’s ban on expanded polystyrene (EPS) to-go containers at local restaurants. Sponsored by the California Restaurant Association, a petition that gathered 38,952 signatures was turned in to the City Clerk’s office Nov. 18. But before the county Registrar of Voters verifies if the necessary amount of signatures were gathered, critics have already lodged complaints with City Clerk Toni Taber that the petition misled signers.

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Cortese, Shirakawa Campaign Forms Provide More Questions than Answers

Paperwork is the worst; unless there isn’t any. A call down to the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters on Thursday turned up some interesting details in the re-election campaigns of county supervisors Dave Cortese and George Shirakawa. Both men ran unopposed to re-election to the board of supervisors in the recent primary, but both raised money. This begs a few questions: Why would a politician need to raise money for a campaign in which they are running unopposed? And why would someone give money to an unopposed candidate? Could there be some amorous backscratching going on here?

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