Pursuant to
Proposition 14 passed in 2010, California uses a
nonpartisan blanket primary for almost all races, with the presidential primary races being the notable exception. Under the nonpartisan blanket primary system, all the candidates for the same elected office, regardless of respective political party, run against each other at once during the primary. The candidates receiving the most and second-most votes in the primary election then become the contestants in the general election.[2]
Presidential primaries will be held in California on
Super Tuesday, March 5, 2024. All six of the state's registered
political parties will hold primary elections. California is a semi-closed primary state, in which
independent voters may choose which party primary to vote in.[4]
There were two elections on the ballot for the same
Class 1 seat: a special election for the remainder of Feinstein's term expiring on January 3, 2025, and a general election for the full term ending on January 3, 2031.[11]
Since the passage of a November 2011 law, only state propositions placed on the ballot by the state legislature may appear on the primary ballot, and all qualifying measures placed via petition are automatically moved to the general election ballot.[12] Only one of these have been put on the 2024 primary ballot:
Proposition 1, the Behavioral Health Services Program and Bond Measure, will provide additional behavioral health services and issue up to about $6.4 billion in bonds to fund housing for homeless individuals and veterans. The measure would also, among others, shift roughly $140 million annually of existing tax revenue for existing mental health, drug, and alcohol treatment care from the counties to the state so the counties could focus more on housing and personalized support services. Supporters of Proposition 1 favor this proposed expansion of behavioral health and addiction services, along with the additional housing for the homeless. Opponents of the measure object to the shift in spending that could cut existing county mental health programs, along with the resulting additional bond debt.[13][14]