California Governor race: When do polls close? Latest update as Xavier Becerra, Tom Steyer, Steve Hilton battle heats up
The race to elect California’s Governor is underway as voters look for Gavin Newsom’s successor. Democrat Eric Swalwell had initially emerged as a strong candidate but he pulled out after allegations of sexual harassment, thus upending the race.
Now, among key candidates to watch out for are Democrat Xavier Becerra, Democrat Tom Steyer, and Republican Steve Hilton. Notably, the state has done away with partisan primaries, which were dropped in 2010 in favor of ‘jungle primaries’.
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In the former, candidates of the same party would fight among themselves before taking on the candidate of the opposing party in the race to be governor. In a ‘jungle primary’ all voters get the full list of candidates and top two finishers move to the general election irrespective of their party.
Here’s when polls close for the California Governor elections.
California Governor elections: When do polls close
Ballots have to be cast in person or returned by 8pm on Election Day for the California governor position polls. Polling began at 7am in the morning.
You can check out the polling station near you here.
When polls are closing a worker will come out and announce “The polls are closed,” as per BREAKING NEWS. The Secretary of State’s Office said that if anyone is in line from before 8pm, they’ll still be allowed to vote.
The ballots must be delivered to a polling place or a ballot drop-off box at 8pm on Election Day. At the time a poll worker stands at the end of the line to inform that those who have queued up after cannot vote as polls are closed.
A court order can lead to a polling place extending voting hours. However, votes are cast during this time using provisional ballots, which are separate from the normal ballots.
Xavier Becerra, Tom Steyer, Steve Hilton in focus
With Swalwell’s exit, some other players have come into focus. According to Associated Press, Xavier Becerra, Tom Steyer, and Steve Hilton are among key candidates in the California governor elections.
Xavier Becerra: He comes with 35 years in California and national politics. He served under President Joe Biden’s cabinet as secretary of Health and Human Services. After Swalwell dropped out, Becerra consolidated support from California’s Democrat power players like Planned Parenthood and the LGBTQ rights group Equality California, as per AP.
Tom Steyer: He is the founder of a San Francisco-based hedge fund and paid out of his pocket to aggressively advertise in the election campaign, as per AP. He has never held office and made a name as a donor for Democrat groups and politicians committed to fighting climate change. He’s reportedly running as a progressive populist, and has surprisingly found support from a Bernie Sanders-aligned group – Our Revolution.
Steve Hilton: Hilton gained support from President Donald Trump. He is a conservative commentator and previous Fox News host. Hilton advised former British Prime Minister David Cameron. Google co-founder Sergey Brin and Palantir co-founder Joe Lonsdale are among those who gave to Hilton’s campaign.
(With AP inputs)