{"id":5384,"date":"2026-06-02T22:32:46","date_gmt":"2026-06-02T22:32:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/02\/why-isnt-californias-primary-election-always-held-in-june\/"},"modified":"2026-06-02T22:32:46","modified_gmt":"2026-06-02T22:32:46","slug":"why-isnt-californias-primary-election-always-held-in-june","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/02\/why-isnt-californias-primary-election-always-held-in-june\/","title":{"rendered":"Why isn\u2019t California\u2019s primary election always held in June?"},"content":{"rendered":"<article><!-- --><!-- --><!-- WPS-5038 -- removed the script from WPS and added the placeholder for trinity player --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- CONTENT --><!--[--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>California has ping-ponged on the dates for its primary elections.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Until 1994, California held its primary elections in June. But a desire to make California more relevant in presidential elections prompted a move to March primaries in 1994, 2000 and 2004.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/02\/is-the-end-near-for-former-dolphins-kicking-star\/\">Is the End Near for Former Dolphins Kicking Star?<\/a><\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>The state held an especially early primary on Feb. 5, 2008.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>But arguments over the length of time between the March primary and the November general election affected campaign costs, prompting then-Gov. Jerry Brown in 2011 to move the primary back to June.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Six years later, Brown approved a plan to move California\u2019s primary election to March after signing the Prime Time Primary Act in 2017, making the law effective in 2019, according to the Secretary of State\u2019s office.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>The Primary Act also consolidated the state and presidential primary in non-presidential years to boost voter engagement, cut costs for local elections and limit confusion among voters, according to the measure.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>In September 2020, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law pushing California\u2019s primary elections for congressional and state-level offices in midterm, or non-presidential, election years back to June, Ballotpedia said.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/02\/usmnt-legend-tim-howard-predicts-the-world-cup-winner\/\">USMNT Legend Tim Howard Predicts the World Cup Winner<\/a><\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>The change does not apply to presidential election years, however.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Technically, California primaries in midterm elections are held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in June.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<h2>How are California primary elections decided?<\/h2>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>In 2010, California voters approved Proposition 14, which established the state\u2019s top-two, or \u201cjungle,\u201d primary system, in which voters cast ballots for candidates of all parties and the top two vote-getters advance to the general election, even if they are from the same party.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Prior to adoption of the so-called open primary system, voters cast ballots only for candidates from their own political parties, with the winners from each party facing each other in the general election.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>State constitutional offices, state legislative offices and U.S. congressional offices are subject to the open primary system. Presidential elections and non-partisan races, such as city and county officials, do not have open primaries.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/02\/yaxel-lendeborg-and-3-other-2026-nba-draft-prospect-sleepers-for-fantasy-basketball\/\">Yaxel Lendeborg And 3 Other 2026 NBA Draft Prospect Sleepers For Fantasy Basketball<\/a><\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--]--><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Prime Time Primary Act and arguments over campaign timing, costs and turnout led California to change its primary from March to June and back again.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5383,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,7,64],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5384","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-california","category-elections","category-local-elections"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Why isn\u2019t California\u2019s primary election always held in June? 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