Indivisible Ventura’s Voting Guide for the 2026 Primary Election

Note: this post will be periodically updated! (06/01/2026)

VOTER GUIDE – QUICK LINKS TO:

WHY WE DO THIS GUIDE:

We have created voter guides since Trump’s first election. It started out as a way to conscientiously fill out the ballot from top to bottom. This years’ Democratic groups couldn’t reach consensus on the big ticket offices, but usually they leave off small, and/or non-partisan positions. Who are those people? Why would one vote for this one over the other?

EXAMPLE OF THE PROBLEM: Look at this year’s VCDCC Voter Guide. Seven out of seventeen offices have no recommendation as they couldn’t reach the required concensus amongst their members. Are you a voter trying to balance your work, school, kids, and EVERYTHING ELSE and are now trying to choose between 61 gubernatorial candidates, 16 Lieutenant Governor candidates, 6 Treasurer candidates, 11 Insurance Commissioners and 10 State Superintendent of Public Instruction candidates? Do you know which County Clerk & Recorder candidate is the rabid election-denier and which is the calm, tested professional?

That’s why we’ve been trying to figure out who-is-who since 2018 and once we’ve done that, we share it. As usual, we’ve found some some unpleasant surprises in a few of the races.

THERE ARE NO UNIMPORTANT OFFICES!: The Heritage Foundation, authors of Project 2025, encourage their people to run for offices people don’t pay enough attention to, to get name recognition and as a launching pad for higher offices. Judicial races are often completely ignored. Indivisible Conejo had to spend a large part of his first term getting rid of MAGA school board members. So we started our guide to not only to research the main candidates (we don’t always agree with the Dem club choices) but also the neglected back corners.

WE ARE NOT TELLING YOU WHAT TO DO! We are telling you how we are going to vote based on our research. You don’t have to agree with our analysis – we are not infallible and people’s values and trusted voices differ. But we try to leave you with enough information to make your own decisions, without you having to start from scratch. Ultimately, more people really engaging with this process is better than just filling out a ballot on auto-pilot every two years. MAGA voters will find their choices clearly marked as well.

WHY DO YOU SUPPORT ‘X’? The graphic posted below is just the TLDR-version of our guide. For those who want to know how we came to our conclusions, go here. (https://indivisibleventura.org/2026/05/18/indivisible-venturas-voting-guide-for-the-2026-primary-election/)

Note: Not all races appear on your ballot due to where you live.

IT’S TIME TO VOTE!

Update: “Indivisibles, Indivisible Media City Burbank has a smart action (see below) to vote ONLY for the top 2 Democrats for Governor. Please share so we might get 2 Democrats for the top 2. Here is the action and the google doc if you want to share.

As much as many of us may love Katie Porter, we want to avoid Katie being a spoiler by splitting the vote for Progressives.

Vote for the top 2 Democrats for Governor 

Hi y’all! Since it looks like Bianco is polling below two Dems, prevailing wisdom seems to be that we don’t need to wait to vote, anymore, but we do have a few strong suggestions.
1) Choose who you like best BETWEEN THE TWO FRONTRUNNERS
1A) PLEASE think twice before casting a vote for Porter since she’s polling the lowest. I have even emailed her campaign and asked that she drop out at this point. If you’d like to do the same: mailto:info@katieporter.com
2) If you are mailing your ballot, PLEASE make sure it’s in the mail no later than May 26th!!! If you do choose to vote as late as you can, please drop your ballot in a drop box.
Indivisible Media City Burbank “

Many voters didn’t realize that it wasn’t just Democrats telling voters to wait!

An extreme right wing group, “Reform California,” run by Assemblymember Carl “Mini-Trump” DeMaio, who just succeeded in getting a toxic SAVE Act-type proposition on the November ballot, has exactly the same advice for their people!

(Reform CA) “Both Steve Hilton and Chad Bianco are good men and would make a great Governor. However, there is a risk of a shut out if Republicans split their votes – thus allowing two Democrats to advance into the runoff. While Reform California is not endorsing one candidate over the other, we strongly recommend that voters review the latest polling on this race to unite behind whichever candidate is in the lead and has the best chance to make it into the runoff. Review the latest polling analysis on CA Governor’s Race here.“

IT’S TIME TO VOTE!

Guaranteed our voter guide will contain recommendations you don’t agree with, and we ask that any contrary comments remain civil. We try to provide enough information about different options to help people make up their own minds. We researched so many rabbit holes, especially for those mysterious “NON-PARTISAN” candidates, so that you and our husbands don’t have to. It’s now on all of us to fix what we can and to create a path to a more just and sustainable future for this country that we love. At a polling booth, or at our own kitchen tables, armed with a pen and a ballot, we are going to fight for the American dream for everyone and for democracy to continue. Here’s how:

  • DO NOT LEAVE BLANK SPACES ON YOUR BALLOT! We try to give out information on reasonable candidates for every office, even those weird ones, like judicial candidates.
  • THERE ARE NO UNIMPORTANT PUBLIC OFFICES: The beliefs of the candidate matter at every level, even those running for offices that are deemed “non-partisan.” Republicans now consider Democratic governance fundamentally illegitimate. Do not give them a foothold or increased name recognition.
  • ENDORSEMENTS YOU SHOULD WATCH OUT FOR: Beyond the basic GOP clubs, there are a number of endorsing organizations that represent far-right political views.
  • Note – WE NEVER RECOMMEND VOTING FOR SOMEONE WITHOUT ENDORSEMENTS!
    • How can we believe a candidate can lead a city, a county, or a state if they can’t even persuade people or organizations to endorse them?
  • CHECK YOUR OWN BALLOT: Not all the people/races listed in our guide are on your ballot. Click here.
  • WATCH OUT FOR SLATE MAILERS: Read political flyers carefully! Who paid for it? Is it from a political party, or are they pay-to-play “slate” mailers?
    • (calmatters) Slated for deception? Beware of all those glossy mailers telling you how to vote.
  • YOU DON’T NEED TO BE AN EXPERT TO BECOME INVOLVED!: Phonebanking! Textbanking! Letter Writing! and other great things to do!: Click here.
  • This post will be updated as more endorsements come in.

DEMOCRATS MUST WIN EVERY CONTEST FROM NOW ON! What we said would happen in our 2024 voter guide if Trump took office has already occurred!

  • He threw out civil service workers who’ve sworn an oath to the constitution and replaced them with his lickspittles.
  • In exchange for being able to enrich himself and punish his enemies without guardrails or consequence, he has let Heritage Foundation operatives, like Russ Vought, install Project 2025, its anti-democratic, anti-LGBTQ, anti-immigrant, anti-environment, anti-woman, anti-public education, White Supremacist and Christian Nationalist agenda.
  • Former Obama White House speechwriter, Ben Rhodes, described the existential threat in plain sight – “One major political party no longer accepts democracy
  • Our country, as predicted, is now a “democracy-in-decline,” which the GOP is intent on replacing with a White Nationalist one-party minority-controlled rule, starting by destroying the protections of the Civil Rights Act. Victor Orbán, model for Project 2025, has finally been ousted, but he was in power for 16 years.

Voting Fast Facts!

  • The League of Women Voters has a great informational page on all aspects of voting here.
  • Voting Schedule:
    • Primary Election – June 2, 2026
    • The last day to register to vote for the June 2, 2026, Primary Election is May 18, 2026.
    • All California active registered voters will receive a ballot for the June 2, 2026, Primary Election.
    • County elections officials began mailing ballots on May 4, 2026.
    • Secure ballot drop-off locations opened on May 5, 2026.
    • Ballots can be dropped off at a drop-off location, county elections office, or returned by mail.
    • The first vote centers open for early in-person voting in all Voter’s Choice Act counties on May 23, 2026.
    • In person early voting locations throughout California will be open on Saturday, May 30, 2026.
    • June 2 is the last day to vote in-person or return a ballot by 8:00 p.m. Polls are open from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Vote-by-mail ballots must be postmarked no later than June 2. If mailing on Elections Day, get a hand-stamped postmark from a postal employee inside a United States Post Office.
  • Returning your ballot: Not sure about the post office right now? You can return your ballot securely at a lot of places!
  • Election Observation information: Information page
  • Registration: Information page to do the following:
    • Check your voter status,
    • register online,
    • pre-register if you’re 16 or 17
    • Make changes – changed your address, name or political party preference?
    • Questions? Call (805) 654-2664
  • Sign up for “Track my Ballot”: https://california.ballottrax.net/voter/

VOTER GUIDE – QUICK LINKS TO:

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