Here’s how Yolo County effectively boosted voter turnout | Opinion

At a time of rampant misinformation and widespread cynicism, election officials nationwide are grappling with the same question: How do we make voting more accessible, understandable and relevant — especially for communities historically left out of our democracy?

In Yolo County, we have not yet found a single definitive answer to this question, but we believe we are making meaningful progress in increasing voter turnout. In the 2024 election, we piloted a new approach by partnering with trusted community-based organizations to help residents better understand how, when and where to vote.

Every indication is that it made a meaningful difference.

Alongside 28 other California counties, Yolo County participates in the Voters Choice Act, a 2016 law that expands access to voting by mailing ballots to all voters, offering in-person early voting and establishing accessible vote centers. But these changes only matter if people know about them.

We were inspired by a project in San Mateo County where elections offices, philanthropy and community groups collaborated to reach targeted communities. If San Mateo could do it, we thought we could take it to another level.

Community-based organizations are trusted messengers; they know how to reach the people at the heart of their work. With support from the county and matching foundation funds, Yolo County provided voter education grants to nine local nonprofits, including food banks, housing providers, youth organizations and grassroots media outlets. They carried out canvassing, door knocking and social media campaigns.

In our diverse county — home to many different languages, including Spanish, Chinese and Russian — these groups delivered culturally relevant, in-language outreach. This work met legal requirements, and, importantly, it helped make elections more accessible for all residents.

The results of all this work? In 2024, Yolo County’s voter turnout exceeded the statewide average by roughly 9 percentage points in the general election and more than 10 points in the primary.

But the more compelling story lies beneath the headline numbers: Even as turnout declined from the record-high 2020 election, several of the neighborhoods and populations we intentionally focused on moved in the opposite direction. Internal tracking shows that turnout in multiple designated communities increased by 4% or more, including among voters ages 18–21. Five of the 16 typically low-voter turnout neighborhoods we chose matched or exceeded the statewide average, underscoring that deliberate, community-based outreach can potentially deliver measurable gains where engagement has historically lagged.

These organizations reached tens of thousands of voters with accurate, nonpartisan information. Many residents said it was the first time they had been contacted directly about voting, and that this contact made the process easier to understand and participate in.

A new report provides a closer look at what happened in Yolo and San Mateo counties in 2024 and highlights lessons for other counties and partner funders. Now, Yolo County is hoping to go the next step in this work in the 2026 and 2028 elections and beyond.

We are encouraging other counties to consider partnering with philanthropy and community groups to do the same.

Working with community-based organizations on voter education stretches public dollars. By matching county funds with philanthropic support and partnering with trusted groups embedded in the community, we expanded our reach without expanding staff or launching costly new programs.

These public-private partnerships also strengthen local nonprofits, helping them build deeper, more durable connections with the communities they serve — connections that will pay dividends as counties tackle public health, the census and other efforts that depend on strong community engagement.

This is a time of tightening public budgets, but also a time when California has made a clear commitment to expand access to voting. Working with trusted community partners gives counties a way to reach voters who are too often overlooked and offers a cost-effective strategy for increasing participation and strengthening our democracy.

Jesse Salinas is the elected assessor, clerk-recorder and registrar of voters in Yolo County. He is the current president of the California Association of Clerks and Elections Officials.