In light of recent resignations, San Fernando Valley voters will need to fill two vacancies in the State Assembly next year by special elections. In a letter today, VICA (Valley Industry Commerce Association) called for Governor Jerry Brown to concurrently schedule the special elections for Assembly Districts (AD) 39 and 45.
Governor Brown announced that the special election for AD 39 would be on June 5, 2018, coinciding with the statewide elections, and a primary special election would be held on April 3, 2018.
Taxpayers bear the burden of special elections, which historically have low voter turnout. We are asking Governor Brown to minimize the impact of these special elections for Valley voters by strategically scheduling elections to save taxpayer funds and hopefully increase voter turnout.
In 2018, the Valley could host up to six separate election days: four special elections to fill the vacancies in Assembly Districts 39 and 45, plus the two already-scheduled statewide elections in June and November. Special elections are costly at approximately $1 million per special election in Los Angeles County, and tend to have lower than usual voter turnout.
Scheduling the special elections concurrently and consolidating them with statewide elections would substantially decrease the operational and financial impacts, as well as encourage greater voter participation. Under VICA’s proposal, the Valley would only host three election days in 2018.