Have you registered to vote? Sacramento organizations want to help you cast a ballot

Yard signs are up. Legions of campaign volunteers are knocking on doors every weekend. Mail-in ballots are waiting for you to open them on your kitchen counter.

Campaign season is well underway in Sacramento County with a key local elections scheduled for June 7. Sacramento County voters will pick a new district attorney, sheriff and set a direction for a number of legislative races that will be settled in November.

Some independent groups are trying to reach voters, too. The clock is ticking. The deadline to register to vote is May 23.

Berry Accius, a community activist, runs a program called “Trap the Vote” where he shares the education of voting with community members, young and old, discussing the action and commitment it takes to see the change.

Over the next three weeks, “Trap the Vote” will be calling voters and going door-to-door as part of a civic engagement opportunity to help increase participation in the election.

The program is currently recruiting and is expected to pay temporary employees $20 per hour.

Accius said he doesn’t tell an individual how to vote, but rather encourages them to select a candidate based on their commitment and investment in the values and needs of Sacramento County residents.

He told The Sacramento Bee that he runs the programs to empower his community and would be “foolish” to pretend voting was not a huge responsibility. He said voting is a major “chess piece” that can affect lives five to 10 years down the road.

When looking at the local district or county races, Accius advises voters to pay close attention to how the politicians talk and whether they’ve followed through on some of the different things that they claimed they were going to do and they don’t end up doing it.

“It’s not about symbolic gestures of progress, and that’s where we’ve had so often. We have to get away from institutional politics that create the same norm,” said Accius. “I want to see what you have done. I don’t want to hear what you think you’re going to do. I want to see it in real time.

Research Sacramento candidates

Many community-based organizations and other regional entities have held debates and forums for viewers to meet the candidates and get an understanding of who they are.

The Sacramento Bee has held debates featuring sheriff candidates, Jim Barnes and Jim Cooper, and district attorney candidates, Alana Mathews and Thien Ho. Recordings of the debates and more election coverage is available at sacbee.com.

In a joint effort, the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California, Sacramento Area Congregations Together, Council on American–Islamic Relations, Justice 2 Jobs Sacramento, Live Free, NorCal Resist, and Public Health Advocates held forums for the district attorney candidates.

Jasper James of the ACLU said her focus is ensuring young people understand the power of voting, enticing them to make their voices heard.

“It doesn’t just stop here with this forum. You know we really start to see how we can (effect change), what can we do like the (forum) meeting, what kind of media can we create? How can we connect? How can we get the youth to care and understand that this is really truly about their future,” said James.

The Black Youth Leadership Program held its own forum which featured over 20 candidates running for positions in the Sacramento region and state of California.

It interviewed candidates for the following positions: Sacramento County supervisor, superior court judge, Assembly, state Senate, Sacramento City Council, Office of Education, Sacramento County sheriff and district attorney.

Important election dates

Voting can be simple, the research can be time consuming, and the window to cast your vote is limited.

Registered voters of Sacramento County should have received a voter information guide in the mail, as well as a ballot. Once you receive your ballot in the mail, you can complete it and and mail it or drop it off at participating locations.

If you’re not registered or don’t know your status, visit https://voterstatus.sos.ca.gov.

For those who want to go into vote centers, in-person, and vote, most will be open on May 28. All vote centers will be open as of June 4 through Election Day. The last day to vote is June 7.