Fresno voters speak out on Election Day. ‘A critical moment’

With fewer than 12 hours to go before the polls close for California’s June primary election, thousands of ballots are expected to stream into the Fresno County Clerk’s Office as the state’s notoriously slow counting process gets underway.

Turnout in primary elections has historically proven to be abysmal. Even though March 2024 was a presidential primary election, only 30% of Fresno County residents eligible to vote turned in their ballots. During the last gubernatorial primary election, it was even worse: In June 2022, Fresno County had a 27.8% turnout.

Fresnoland reporters spoke with voters who ended up at the polls on election day, asking which candidates, races or issues drove them out there.

Polls remain open until 8 p.m. Anyone in line to vote when the polls close, will be allowed to vote.

James Kus, the Fresno County Clerk and Registrar of Voters, told Fresnoland that the county received over 80,000 mail ballots by June 1. According to Kus, that number is higher than most recent primary elections.

“It isn’t as high as we saw last November for the Prop 50 special election,” Kus said in an interview. “Very difficult to compare a primary to that, so we compare against other primaries, and we’re liking what we’re seeing right now.”

Kus says he expects an influx of votes to come in during Election Day, and explained that Fresno County voters have, historically, waited until the last day to cast their ballots.

According to Kus, vote counting started a few days after ballots were mailed out last month. Kus said that his office has previously completed ballot counting as fast as three days, but noted that he’d like for a high turnout of voters, even if it means more days of work.

“Today is the last day to vote and the polls close at 8pm,” Kus said, adding “We have 54 vote centers out there, 70 drop boxes, and if you’re in line, if you’re in voting at 8pm you’re going to be allowed to complete your voting process,” Kus said.

With a field of candidates for governor roughly the size of a March Madness first-round tournament bracket, the wild race to replace Gov. Gavin Newsom was top of mind for some Fresno-area voters on Tuesday morning.

That included Nancy Donat, a 64-year-old Lowell resident who said she came to vote because “this is a critical moment for the nation.” She works at a global religious non-profit called One Collective and she said it’s imperative for voters to act now through their ballots. 

Donat said key races on Tuesday’s ballot include for governor and state senator, and hopes that whoever is voted into office can work with communities to lead “with compassion and love for  neighbors.”

Vicky Kham, 50, who works for a local nonprofit and lives in Fresno’s Roosevelt/Sunnyside area, said she voted in part to ensure Southeast Asian communities are represented at the ballot box. She returned her ballot Tuesday at the Betty Rodriguez Regional Library.

Climate change was one of her top concerns. Kham said she supports candidates who prioritize environmental issues and hopes to see more trees planted throughout Fresno to improve air quality.

Looking ahead, she said she wants greater investment in community resources, including better roads, libraries and educational opportunities for young people.

“Education is very important,” Kham said. “Growing up, I didn’t have a lot of supporting systems. I hope by voting we can have more libraries and more public education for the youngsters out there and for the future.”

Janie Castillo, 65, lives in the Mayfair neighborhood and cited high taxes and an increasing homeless population as the motivating factors for her vote. She also dropped her ballot at the Betty Rodriguez library.

Castillo noted that she has seen costs for her insurance balloon since the COVID-19 pandemic with little respite.

Additionally, she said the selection of a new governor needs to bring change and support for working class families.

“Our money is not going where it’s supposed to, and we work hard for the money,” Castillo said.

Patrick Lopez is a 34-year-old network engineer. He dropped his ballot off at the Fresno City College polling center, after having filled it out at home.  

“It just feels more secure that way,” Lopez said. 

He said most of his friends and family vote, but there are some exceptions. 

“My partner doesn’t vote,” Lopez said. “I had to like pull her arm and convince her to vote.”

Lopez self identifies as a progressive voter. “I just want to elect progressives, leftist, lefty people,” he said.

He shared that he voted for Naindeep Singh in the Fresno City Council District 1 race, and for Tom Steyer in the state’s governor’s race. 

“High-speed rail is very important to me,” Lopez said. “(Xavier) Becerra wants to…what does he say? Scrap the project and start all over? He seems like an old fuddy-duddy that would probably be OK, but I want somebody that’s more bold. I think Tom Steyer is that.”

Chris Messick, 50, who works in retail and lives in Fresno’s Hoover neighborhood, said one of his primary motivations for voting is “just trying to stop Trump.”

While he said there were no specific local issues driving his vote, Messick expressed concerns about the cost of living, particularly high gas prices. He added that there is only so much local officials can do, but said he would like to see California reconsider some of the additional taxes residents face.

Messick also said he appreciates the option to vote by mail, which he described as a convenient way to participate in elections.

Carolyn White, 64, a Tower District resident and seasonal federal employee in agriculture, said she voted with farmers and working families in mind. As someone who works in an agricultural lab, White said water access is critical for farmers and agricultural workers because longer water supplies can mean longer growing seasons and more work opportunities.

“The farmers need it, we need it, they need to just come and ease off the people,” White said. “And the gas prices is outrageous right now. I mean, seven damn dollars a gallon, damn near, come on now.”

As a single parent and grandmother, White said she is concerned about the economic challenges facing families today in California as “we are really getting punched bad,” and what those challenges could mean for future generations.

A slow but steady stream of ballots came in at the Sunnyside Regional Library in the early afternoon on Tuesday with voters making use of both the drop box outside and the in-person vote center stationed in the library.

Among them was Sharon Kopacz, a 55-year-old gynecologist. She had two priorities after staying up all night on-call: checking on her child, who’s at home sick today, and voting.

“My mom reminded me about five times: Remember, you have to vote today,” she said. “She’s a retired teacher.”

Kopacz said securing women’s rights and promoting safe access to medical care are among the issues most important to her as a voter.

“I feel hope for the future,” she said. “I’m excited about some kind of change.”

Joe Pinedo, 54, also cast his ballot at Sunnyside on Tuesday afternoon.

The race to replace termed-out Newsom was one of the most important to him on the ballot — particularly since the governor’s office has more levers to pull in the face of issues like soaring gas prices, compared with local elected officials, he said.

But locally, Pinedo said homelessness is the big issue affecting his neighborhood in the Sunnyside area.

His hope is that local leadership can work on better connecting people living on the streets with mental and behavioral health resources.

“I know that the resources are available,” he said, “it’s just a matter of connecting them.”

Gabriela Vega, 24, also voted at Sunnyside on Tuesday afternoon with her mother.

Vega said she and her family thought it was important to vote in this election, especially to speak up in the name of people who don’t have citizenship and can’t vote.

“We take a lot of pride in being able to come in and represent them,” she said, “represent our minority and those that we love.”

Vega hopes for decent turnout this election and even better at the next election in November.

Just a few miles west of Sunnyside, Tim Wyman cast a ballot at the Mosqueda Community Center. 

He pointed to the governor’s race as the most important one on the ballot.

“We need a governor that works,” he said. “Not one that looks good on TV.”

“There’s a lot of people that want to do the job, but every time they put somebody in there — it’s just like when they let Arnold Schwarzenegger be governor,” Wyman said. “That was the biggest mistake California ever made. It was bad. That’s why we’ve got the great big train going nowhere.”

On the westside, in-person voters trickled in slowly at the West Fresno Regional Center, the only vote center in southwest Fresno. 

Vicki Erickson, 79, drove in from the rural community of Easton to cast her vote on Tuesday.

She said she has voted in every election since she was 18.

Erickson, a retired licensed physical therapist who’s still involved with her family’s farm, identified the governor’s race as the most important on the ballot, “since that sets the tone for the state,” she said.

For the first time, Erickson said she didn’t receive her ballot in the mail this year. Mail theft, she added, is a recurring issue in the rural community where she lives. 

Anthony Molano is a 31-year-old healthcare worker who lives in the Tower District. 

Molano has voted in multiple elections, and said that his entire family is also civically engaged. He voted in-person at the Fresno City College polling site. 

“Working in healthcare…it can get busy.” Molano said. “I had to schedule around it, but I made sure to attend.”

Molano said voting was still relatively easy. He said he believes elections are critical for not only himself, but for other communities, too. 

“Voting matters. It’s very important,” Molano said. “Especially for those communities that are facing barriers with voting. I hope they just know that we hear you, feel free to reach out and let us help you.”

In Fresno, the closest voting center to the San Joaquin River is the United Health Center’s administrative office at Herndon and Brawley. Late Tuesday afternoon, a few voters were entertained for a brief moment in the 102-degree blacktop: buzzed by prop planes landing a stone’s-throw away at Sierra Skypark. 

“It’s our liberty to vote. We might as well exercise it and let our voices be heard,” said Gunder Balista. “We were interested in all the races.”

A club in northwest Fresno, which County Board of Education candidate Michelle Cantwell-Copher is part of, said Alex Garcia, was split on whether to vote for Cantwell-Copher or her opponents — Eimear O’Brien and Johnny Alvarado.

“A lot of people in our group are half-divided,” said Garcia. 

Civic clubs weren’t the only type of group who helped inform votes on Tuesday. 

“I have a cousin who gave me a lot of races and candidates to vote for,” said Rajinder Anjuala, who showed up to help his older family members to vote. 

Clayton Reeves, a UPS employee and longtime northwest Fresno resident, said he focused more on statewide races this year out of disappointment with Mayor Jerry Dyer, whom he said has done little to improve overall road conditions with his signature “Pave More Now, Pay Later” program.

“My dad says they’re working on it, but I don’t see a whole lot going right now,” he said. “Most of my interest was in the statewide races.”

Charles Garabedian, a longtime resident of Fresno, said he hoped his vote for Steve Hilton, Republican candidate for governor, would finally change California for the better. 

“We always vote. It’s our duty,” Garabedian. “We don’t want the status quo. We think [Hilton] has a great vision for California.”