Yap Zone: This Ballot Was Made for a Voter Who Doesn't Exist

Today, three COYOTE staffers hopped on a call to talk about the California primary, why nobody wanted to fill in that CVS receipt of a governor ballot, and what the hell we do in November.

Soleil Ho: As of the morning of June 4, it looks like Steve Hilton's ahead in the governor's race.

Rahawa Haile: The consensus seems to be that Xavier Becerra wins even if Tom Steyer makes it through, though Steyer's campaign was out here buying TikTok ads arguing that two Democrats on the ballot is better because it supposedly reduces Republican turnout. It felt like a paid talking point more than a real strategy.

Nuala Bishari: And of course progressives always vote later, because we're slackers. So everything tilts right with early counting. We'll see if that shifts. But what do we think about voter enthusiasm overall? This cycle it was like swimming through mud trying to make myself care. My hardcore far-left harm-reduction friends were like, "I don't know who to vote for." The older women I ride horses with at my stable were like, "I don't know who to vote for." Completely universal. And I'm already looking at November thinking: what is going to get anyone excited? It seemed just so universal across the board that there was no real desire for any of these candidates, any excitement over these candidates. Aside from the impact on this race, I wonder what a more subtle impact is on voters' desire to turn out in the first place.