San Joaquin County ballot guide: Key candidates, issues in 2024 midterm election (2024)

Early voting in the Nov. 5 general election will begin Oct. 7, when county elections offices begin mailing ballots to allCalifornia active registered voters. Ballot drop-off locations open Oct. 8. The last day to register to vote this election is Oct. 21.

Before it’s time to cast your ballot, we hope you take a moment to learn about the candidates in the critical 2024 election, when voters will pick a new U.S. president, a Stockton mayor, San Joaquin County supervisor. California voters, too, could help decide which party controls the U.S. House. Here is a candidate guide for races on local, state and federal levels.

Key dates

Sept. 6: The Voter Information Guide is available online.
Sept. 26 - Oct. 15:The Secretary of State's office will mail the Official Voter Information Guide.
Oct. 7: By this day, county elections officials will begin mailing registered voters a vote‐by‐mail ballot.
Oct 7: Early voting sites open.
Oct. 8 - Nov. 5: All counties must open ballot drop-off locations for vote-by-mail ballots.
Oct. 21: Last day toregister to votefor the general election. To check voter registration status visitMyVoterStatus.
Oct. 22 - Nov. 5: Same-day registration. Voters can "conditionally" register and vote a provisional ballot during this time.
Nov. 5: Election Day.Polls are open from7 a.m. to 8p.m.
Nov. 12: Vote by mail ballot deadline to be delivered by the United States Postal Service as long as the vote-by-mail ballot is postmarked on or before Election Day.
Dec. 5: Last day for county elections officials to certify election results.
Dec. 13: Statement of Vote is the final official election results certified by the Secretary of State and posted on the website.

Voter FAQ

Register to vote: Registration can be done online by filling out the online application atregistertovote.ca.gov. The application is available in 10 languages. Those interested in receiving a paper voter registration application can do so by picking one up at county elections office, library, DMV offices, or U.S. post office. You can also call (800) 345-VOTE(8683) or emailElections Division staffto request a paper voter registration application be mailed to you, the California Secretary of State website states.

Check voter status: Check your voter status atMy Voter Statusto confirm mailing address and status.

Track your ballot:Track your vote-by-mail ballot by signing up for Where's My Ballotto receive text, email, or voice status alerts.

More information: More San Joaquin County FAQs can be found here.

Key dates ahead of Election Day:Stockton, San Joaquin County voter guide

How to register to vote:Easy steps to voting in November in San Joaquin County

What's on the Nov. 5 ballot?

For a full list of candidates certified in San Joaquin County, visit here.

Presidential candidates: Kamala Harris (Democratic party), Donald Trump (Republican party), Jill Stein (Green party), Chase Oliver (Libertarian party).
10 ballot propositions
Statewide candidates for U.S. Senate, California State Senate, U.S. House of Representatives, California State Assembly
Local candidates and local measures

Campaign finance:How to find, decipher Stockton, San Joaquin County candidate records

What are the qualifications to vote in California?

There are a few boxes that must be checked off to qualify to register to vote:

Be a citizen of the United States and a resident of California
Be 18 years old or older on Election Day
Not be in prison for a felony conviction
Not currently be judged mentally incompetent by order of a court

Voting by mail?When will Californians get their ballots?

When is Election Day 2024?

Election day for Americans is on Tuesday, Nov. 5.

Where do I vote?

Find your polling place by entering your address atsos.ca.gov/elections/polling-place

What's on the ballot in San Joaquin County?

Voters will cast their ballots for the next U.S. president and vote for their local government seats.

Local measures

Measure G: Oakdale Joint Unified School District tech and school facilities bond measure
Measure H: Galt Joint Union Elementary School District classroom repair bond measure
Measure J: Ripon Unified School District classroom improvement bond measure
Measure K: San Joaquin Delta Community College District college job training, repair, affordable local education measure
Measure L: Escalon Unified School District bond measure
Measure M: Public Information Office, Stockton, proposes assigning the City of Stockton’s Public Information Office to the City Manager and providing the Mayoral Public Information Officer with access to information necessary to fulfill their role in a reasonable and timely manner, as coordinated through the City’s Public Information Office.
Measure N: Binding Arbitration, Stockton, sponsored by the Stockton Police Officers’ Association and the Stockton Professional Firefighters Local 456, would remove from the City Charter the existing procedures for resolving disputes during contract negotiations with public safety unions through impartial mediation and would instead require disputes to be submitted for binding arbitration.
Measure O: Tracy Unified School District facilities upgrade bond measure
Measure P: Escalon Local Services Measure that proposes enacting a local sales tax of 1% to generate approximately $900K each year in dedicated and locally controlled funds that benefit Escalon residents and businesses.
Measure Q: Manteca 3/4-cent sales tax increase to offset General Fund expenditures, pay for additional services and programs, and rebuild the City’s General Fund reserve.
Measure R, Proposed county ordinance imposing illegal substance dependence screening and treatment for certain recipients of county general assistance benefits
Measure S: Thornton Fire District Special Tax

What's on the ballot in Stockton?

Stockton Mayor

Christina Fugazi, educator
Tom Patti, businessman/ county supervisor

Election forum:Mayoral candidates Christina Fugazi, Tom Patti share vision for Stockton

Stockton City Council District 2

Waqar Rizvi, county technology manager
Mariela Ponce, professional health care worker

Stockton City Council District 4

Mario Enriquez, college educator/ director
Gina Valadez-Bracamonte, businesswoman

Stockton City Council District 6

Jason Lee, businessman
Kimberly Warmsley, councilwoman/ social worker

Stockton council District 6:Candidates reveal no new financial information

Stockton Unified School District School Board Area 1

Isabel Perez, health policy manager
Anthony Wofford, business owner

Stockton Unified School District School Board Area 3

Maximilano Beas, business owner
Frank Silva, youth coach

Stockton Unified School District School Board Area 4

Stefanie Alfaro, mother
Gwendolyn D. Dailey, educational consultant
Shauna Priest, school administrator
Thaddeus Smith III, IT director
Douglas Vigil, sign language instructor

Who's on the ballot in California?

The 2024 presidential election so far has been a whirlwind of unprecedented shocks and surprises, and that's even before votes have been cast. Though the race for the White House inevitably looms large, voters in the nation's most populous state are facing plenty of election drama and critical decisions in their own backyard.

Californians across the state this November will cast their vote in the contest for the first open Senate seat in decades, wade into hotly contested debates over crime and rent control and decide on measures that will alter the state's constitution.

California State Senate

Voters in half of the 40 state Senate districts will choose their representatives. The current state Senate has 31 Democrats and nine Republicans. If Republicans win four or more seats, the Democrats would no longer hold their two-thirds supermajority.

State senator, District 5

Jerry McNerney, policy adviser
Jim Shoemaker, trucker/ tradesman/ businessman

California State Assembly

Voters will choose their representatives in all 80 state Assembly districts, and Democrats also have a supermajority, controlling 62 of the 80 seats.

State Assembly, District 9

Heath Flora, parent/ farmer/ assemblyman
Tami Nobriga, retired advertising businesswoman

State Assembly, District 13

Denise Aguilar Mendez, non-profit director
Rhodesia Ransom, business owner/ mother

U.S. Senate race in California

California voters selectedDemocratic Rep. Adam Schiff and Republican baseball legend Steve Garveyin the 2024 primary to duke it out in November for one of the state's two seats in the U.S. Senate. The two are vying for California's first open Senate seat in decades, left vacant last year following Sen. Dianne Feinstein's death. Gov. Gavin Newsom appointed Democrat Laphonza Butler to the seat shortly afterward, and she will cede to the winning candidate. As a result, Californians will vote twice for their chosen candidate November — once to fill the remainder of Feinstein's term ending January 2025, and a second for a full six-year term ending 2031.

Learn more about the U.S. Senate candidates

California House races:It's deep-blue California, not Midwest swing states, that may decide House control

U.S. House races in California

Voters in all the state’s 52 U.S. House districts will have the chance to choose who they want to represent them for two-year terms in Congress. For those living in a handful of Central Valley and Southern Californian districts, their choice this November may very well decide which party controls the House for the next few years. In the 2022 midterms, California Republicans eked out narrow wins in the state’s battleground districts, giving the GOP control in Washington. But House Republicans have the slimmest majority in history, ratcheting up the stakes for thesecompetitive California districts. It’s these races, along with a few in New York, that will decide which party controls Congress — and whether the new president will step into the White House with a helpful or hostile legislature.

U. S. Representative in Congress, District 9

Kevin Lincoln, Stockton mayor
Josh Harder, incumbent

U.S. Representative in Congress, District 13

John Duarte, incumbent
Adam Gray, small businessman/ educator

For more candidates on the San Joaquin County Final Qualified Candidate List visitsjgov.org.

Propositions on the ballot in California

Voters will decide on 10 statewide propositions this November, making the general ballot a bit more crowded than during the 2022 midterms but largely par for the course during a presidential election year.

There are three constitutional amendments and two bond measures up for consideration in November.

The list includes a controversial pullback of criminal justice reforms, changes to how the state constitution considers slavery and same-sex marriage, and multi-million-dollar funding for school facilities and climate change preparedness.

California Prop. 2: School bond

This$10 billion bond measure would fund renovation and construction of K–12 and community college facilities across the state, with $8.5 billion earmarked for K-12 buildings and $1.5 billion for community colleges.

California Prop. 3: Same-sex marriage

This measure would officially remove language in the state constitution banning same-sex marriage, characterizing it as only between a man and a woman. It's a hold-over from 2008 when voters passed the controversial Proposition 8 same-sex marriage ban, which was then swiftly overturned, and then nulled entirely when the U.S. Supreme Court in 2013 cleared the way for same-sex marriage in California.

Learn more about California's Proposition 3:Same-sex marriage

California Prop. 4: Climate change

This $10 billion bond measure would go toward a variety of climate change preparedness and adjustment projects. More than half would fund water infrastructure projects including drought and flood resilience, wildfire prevention and projects to protect against sea level rise.

Learn more about California's Proposition 4: Climate change

California Prop. 5: Affordable housing

This measure would make it easier for local governments to pass bonds and taxes for affordable housing. It would change the vote threshold for these local measures, from a two-thirds majority of voters to 55%.

Learn more about California's Proposition 5: Affordable housing

California Prop. 6: Prison labor

This proposition, a constitutional amendment, would prohibit the state from giving inmates involuntary work assignments, largely considered a form of slavery via indentured servitude. It would also disallow state prisons from punishing inmates who refuse to work, and would create volunteer programs that could shorten inmates' sentences.

Learn more about California's Proposition 6: Prison labor

California Prop. 32: Minimum wage

This measure would bump the state's minimum wage from its current rate of $16 an hour to $18 an hour by 2026, making it the nation’s highest. Businesses with more than 25 employees would have to reach that $18 an hour by the first of 2025, much earlier than smaller businesses.

Learn more about California's Proposition 32: Minimum wage

California Prop. 33: Rent control

Another attempt to expand rent control will be before voters in November after similar measures failed in 2018 and 2020. The measure would repeal the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act, which bans rent control on single-family homes constructed after 1995, and would allow cities to control rent on any type of housing.

Learn more about California's Proposition 33: Rent control

California Prop. 34: Patient spending

This measure, backed by the state's leading landlord lobby, the California Apartment Association, would require health care providers meeting a certain list of requirements to spend nearly all of its revenues on direct patient care. It would effectively only apply to The AIDS Healthcare Foundation, which has been a major supporter of rent control initiatives and is considered by critics to be a politically motivated effort to weaken the foundation's ability to fund such efforts in the future.

Learn more about California's Proposition 34: Patient spending

California Prop. 35: Medi-Cal funding

This measure would make permanent an existing tax on health insurers, which is currently set to expire in 2026. The tax is used to pay for Medi-Cal health care services, and Proposition 35 would require revenues to be used only for specified Medi-Cal services, including primary and specialty care, emergency care, family planning, mental health, and prescription drugs.

Learn more about California's Proposition 35: Medi-Cal funding

California Prop. 36: Crime penalties

This measure would repeal parts of the decade-old Proposition 47, which reduced punishments for some nonviolent crimes, which Republican and law enforcement critics say has led to more theft and drug trafficking. The measure would allow prosecutors to seek prison and felony charges for individuals with three or more convictions, overturning Democrat-supported reforms, and would allow courts to mandate drug treatment as a prison alternative.

Learn more about California's Proposition 36: Crime penalties

Who's on the ballot for president?

Presidential candidates include:

Kamala Harris, Democratic party
Donald Trump, Republican party
Jill Stein, Green party
Chase Oliver, Libertarian party