Dear San Mateo County Democrats,
The 2018 Primary Election was last Tuesday. It has been very exciting to see the large numbers of Democrats running for office locally, statewide and nationally. It's a very diverse group representing new generations of candidates and includes many more women. The candidates represent the communities for which they want to serve. It’s about time.
All the candidates endorsed by the San Mateo County Democratic Party won. For more information, view the website at www.smcdems.org. At the time that I am writing this letter all but four endorsed ballot measures passed. These four are in races too close to call.
Many races with top-two candidates will be moving to the November 6, 2018 election. In addition, there will be a significant number of local races to follow this fall. Please watch our website and attend our General Meetings to learn more about the SMCDems endorsements process.
I’m also pleased to report that we will be hosting our ever-popular Summer SMCDems BBQ. FLIP IT IN 2018! will be held on Sunday, August 5 in at Twin Pines Park in Belmont. As always, there will be great food, great fun, and many Democratic Candidates.
As yesterdays race the results came in I was shocked and concerned about the very low turnout. I know that the numbers of people who voted will rise as vote by mail and provisional ballots are counted.
The numbers are very alarming. Of the 388,298 registered voters in San Mateo County, only 75,513 or 19.2 % voted. This further breaks down into 64,154 absentee voters for 16.5% and 10,359 voter center or 2.7% of the vote.
As a result of these low numbers, candidates sometimes get elected by very small margins and by a very small percentage of the electorate. We need to be sure that everyone we know is registered and votes in every election. Can you help me do this?
People who comment about the results of the vote should be asked whether or not they voted. If not, they should shut up. Seriously.
2018 is not a time to be apathetic. We can’t sit back and expect elected officials in California to do all of the work. We, as Democrats need to speak up, vote and volunteer for issues important to them.
Can I count on you to volunteer for the San Mateo County Democratic Party this summer? We will need many volunteers to plan and staff the FLIP IT IN 2018! Summer BBQ. We will need hundreds more volunteers at the SMCDems Headquarters to make phone calls, walk precincts, register voters and do everything else to elect Democrats in November 2018!
Democratically Yours,
Cecily Harris, Chair
San Mateo County Democratic Party