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The LWVNSBC is committed to informing voters to help make our elections more free, fair, and equitable. Non-partisan candidate forums allow voters to hear directly from those seeking election to local offices. Choose the leaders you want to make the decisions that will shape your community. Vote Local -- Every Vote Counts!
10/7: Santa Maria School Board Races: 5:30-6:30pm -- Santa Maria-Bonita School District; 6:45-8:15pm -- Santa Maria Unified School District. English/Spanish interpretation provided. Location: St. Peter's Episcopal Church (402 S. Lincoln St., Santa Maria).
10/14: Santa Maria Airport Director District 5: 6:00pm. Location: Oasis Senior Center (420 Soares Ave., Orcutt). Dual language interpretation provided.
10/23 -- Solvang Mayoral Candidates: 6:00pm. Location: Solvang City Council Chambers (1644 Oak St., Solvang). Dual language interpretation provided.
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Ready To Vote in the November 5th Election?
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Ballots in the mail October 7th. All California active registered voters will receive a vote-by-mail ballot. Doublecheck that your registration is up-to-date here.
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Last day to register to vote is October 21st. If you do not register by this date, you may conditionally register to vote and cast a provisional ballot by visiting your county elections office, a vote center, or a designated satellite location.
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Voting by mail? Ballots must be postmarked on or before Election Day and received by November 12th.
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Voting in person or ballot drop-off box? Click here to locate your polling place or drop-box location. Polling Places are open Tuesday, November 5, from 7am-8pm.
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The LWVNSBC does it again! We kicked off our local Santa Maria candidate forums on Tuesday, September 24th, with co-host Santa Maria Chamber of Commerce, at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church with candidates running for city council in Santa Maria’s Districts 1 and 2. After introductions each candidate identified the issues most important to their district and the challenges facing their constituents. At the break, the audience of approximately 85 attendees submitted questions for the candidate regarding public safety, budget management, housing availability and affordability, gang activity, and homelessness. After a closing statement by each candidate, the attendees had the opportunity to talk with each candidate. The forum was very informative, engaging, safe, and well managed by our Moderator and Treasurer Virginia Souza.
Video recordings of the Santa Maria City Council and Mayoral candidate forums are available here and you can access the City of Lompoc School Board and City Council/Mayoral forums here.
Thanks to our sponsors: The Fund for Santa Barbara, National Association of Colored People (NAACP), and The Santa Maria Times.
Vote Local! Every Vote Counts!
Lisa Thornhill, 2nd Vice President, Program Planning
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The LWVNSBC Candidate Forum on September 24th featured (left to right) Santa Maria City Council District 1 candidates Carlos Escobedo and Maria Salguero and District 4 candidates Benjamin Ortiz, Gloria Flores, and Mike Cordero. | |
On October 3rd, we collaborated with forum host the Lompoc-Vandenberg Branch of the American Association of University Women (AAUW) on a forum for Lompoc's City Council and Mayoral Candidates. (Left to right) District 1, Steve Bridge and Patrick Wiemiller, District 4, Jeremy Ball, and Mayoral Candidates, Jenelle Osborne, James Mosby, and Lydia Perez. | |
On October 4th, we hosted the Santa Maria Mayoral Candidate Forum. (Left to right) Alice Patino, Andrew Foster, and Diana Perez. (Candidate Will Smith was unable to attend.) | |
Leadership Team/Treasurer Virginia Souza and member Rosa Coronado invite all interested members to an organizing meeting for our new LWVNSBC Immigration Committee. The meeting will be from Noon-1:30pm on October 16th at St. Peter's Episcopal Church (412 S. Lincoln St., Santa Maria). Guest Speaker is Anna DiStefano, a retired Provost of the Fielding Institute in Santa Barbara, former Fund for Santa Barbara Board Member, and current Chairperson of LWV-Santa Barbara Immigration Committee. A buffet lunch will be provided. Reserve your spot here.
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When you vote on ballot measures and propositions, you are voting directly on laws that you might want or not want. And the description may lead you to vote “yes” when you mean “no.” Here are three resources to help you make your proposition voting decisions. It’s important that you use your power to vote to be heard on these issues.
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The LWV-California has analyzed the ballot propositions so you don’t have to! Click here to choose LWV-CA Pros/Cons for a deeper dive into the state ballot measures and the arguments for and against each measure.
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The LWV-Santa Barbara is offering a Pros and Cons webinar with Moderator Shane Stark featuring a discussion on statewide propositions. Attendees will be able to ask questions. October 9th, 5-7pm. To join Zoom webinar, click here.
- Inspired by the magazine quizzes from our childhoods, CalMatters, a nonprofit and nonpartisan news organization, offers quizzes here so you can decide step-by-step where you stand on each ballot proposition.
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At our Annual Meeting last year, members approved our name change from LWV-Santa Maria Valley to LWV-North Santa Barbara County. It's a very broad area to cover but we knew that in an election year especially, we needed to provide all our local communities with nonpartisan voter registration and education opportunities. And on September 17th, National Voter Registration Day, our member volunteers were out and about.
Visitors were encouraged to stop by and view local ballots and helpful non-partisan voter information. There was an opportunity to register to vote, or re-register if voter information has changed, or pre-register if 16 years old or older. A big thank you to all our wonderful Volunteers!
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Co-Membership Chair Judy Garret and her sister Annie Lawrence were at the Santa Maria Public Library. | |  |
Secretary Sandy Boyd and member Steve Southwick, Publisher of the Orcutt Pioneer newspaper, were at the Orcutt Public Library. | | |
Members Joyce Howerton and Cynthia Lara were tabling at the Guadalupe Public Library. Not pictured: Members at public libraries in Solvang, Lompoc, and Cuyama (Sept. 18). | | |
We also supported Santa Maria High School students who pre-registered those 16 years or older for voting during lunchtime activities offered by the school's clubs. | | |
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Report shows increase in eligible voters
Secretary of State Shirley N. Weber recently announced a record total of 22,310,352 eligible Californians have registered to vote -- 1,070,116 more than at the same point in the presidential election cycle 4 years ago. The report also shows that more than 1.2 million 16- and 17-year-olds have pre-registered to vote in California. Youth who pre-registered to vote have their voter registration automatically activated when they turn 18.
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Thanks to Pearl Garza, Operations Manager of SMOOTH, Inc., Davanira Cruz, Transit Coordinator, City of Guadalupe, and Voter Services Committee member, joyce ellen lippman, 6 SMOOTH and 4 Guadalupe buses are taking the GET OUT THE VOTE message all around our cities. The bus sign was designed by member Laura Selken and based on the theme, "Your Voice Matters! VOTE." The goal, according to lippman, is to "invite our community to vote and express our opinions and priorities. Our right to vote is both a privilege and responsibility."
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We Need Your Help
We are working hard this election cycle to register voters and educate folks about the candidates, measures, and propositions that will appear on our ballots. But we need you to get the job done. Check out these volunteer opportunities:
Candidate forums: Greet candidates and community members, be a timekeeper, help select candidate questions. Voter registration tabling: Like meeting new people? Be part of a community event. Public speaking: Present the pros and cons of ballot measures to groups. Poll workers and observers: Ensure that all registered voters have access to the polls. Vote411: Encourage candidates to upload their profiles online through this LWVCA web-based app. Join us by clicking here. Training will be provided and hours are flexible.
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