Stockton voters headed to the polls Tuesday, citing both local and statewide races as reasons for participating in the June 2 primary election.
Along with the California governor’s and lieutenant governor’s races, voters in Stockton and San Joaquin County are deciding multiple local races. Those include three seats on the Stockton City Council, two seats on the San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors and the county’s assessor-recorder-clerk. Also on the ballot are several Assembly and congressional races.
Polling places opened at 7 a.m. and closed at 8 p.m. Tuesday, the last day to vote in person or return a ballot. Vote-by-mail ballots had to be postmarked no later than Election Day, according to the California Secretary of State.
As of 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, political data firm PDI reported that 18% of San Joaquin County’s ballots had been returned, with 72,661 ballots returned out of 410,255 eligible voters. About 337,594 ballots remained.
Visit our Elections page throughout the day Tuesday, June 2, for the latest news, results and more as the California 2026 Primary gets underway.
Clara Martin of Stockton cast her ballot at the San Joaquin County Registrar of Voters office Tuesday afternoon. She said she was closely following the governor’s race and several local contests.
“The governor, obviously, that one’s the one that’s really, really important right now,” Martin said when asked which races she was following. “That race is kind of toe-to-toe, and then some of the districts that are pertaining to us, too.”
Martin said voting is important because it helps voters narrow the field among candidates who have worked to introduce themselves to the public.
“They’ve got some good backgrounds,” Martin said.
Randolph Broderick, 75, dropped off his ballot in a drop box outside the registrar’s office. He said the governor’s race was the contest he was watching most closely.
“I feel that the people who have been at the helm have gotten us through COVID and Trump, so I want to try to keep that going,” Broderick said.
Broderick, who grew up in Lodi and now lives in Stockton, said voting has long been a family tradition. He said it is important in every election cycle.
“We always made a big deal out of voting, me and my wife did,” Broderick said. “Once we had kids, it was always pizza night or ice cream night. We made a big deal out of it so the kids would feel that it was important.”
Asked what Election Day means to him, Broderick said, “Maybe there’s a chance. It’s not totally desperate. Maybe things will get better.”
Broderick also criticized government actions involving immigration enforcement, describing them as “tyranny” and saying voters need to stand together against it.
“What they’re doing to the immigrant community is outrageous,” Broderick said. “There seems to be more protection in California.”
Russell Espiritu, 34, a Stockton native, voted at Van Buskirk Community Center. He said he was primarily following the governor’s race and was less focused on the local contests.
“I know I need to do more research on that, but I feel like the governor makes the biggest decisions in a state,” Espiritu said.
Espiritu said he voted because he wants change in California’s direction, citing concerns about taxes, road conditions and state regulations.
“I feel like there needs to be some change in California,” Espiritu said. “I feel like the direction that we’ve been going since I’ve been able to vote is not a good direction for our state.”
He said he believes tax dollars are not always used effectively and pointed to infrastructure concerns in Stockton and other parts of the state.
“We’re losing a lot of tax dollars and they’re supposed to be fixing our roads, but we see potholes everywhere here in Stockton,” Espiritu said.
Espiritu also criticized smog regulations, saying they can be difficult for older vehicles to meet.
“I’m hoping that they adjust some of the smog laws that they have here,” Espiritu said. “I have a really old car, and how is it supposed to be passing smog when the standard for it is not adjusted?”
Espiritu said he hopes elected officials will make decisions based on what is best for communities and that elections can help rebuild community connections.
“We need to bring communities back,” Espiritu said. “I feel like sometimes we don’t even know our own neighbors. I feel like there’s all of this left- and right-wing stuff, and people can’t even have discussions anymore. I feel like things have just been so different, and the country’s been feeling so divided, but I hope things get better. That’s all I can hope for.”
Edna Hill, 55, of Stockton, voted at San Joaquin Elementary School. She said she decided to vote in part because she was able to leave work early with pay.
“I got to get off work early with pay. So I’m like, ‘Oh, I’m going to go vote,'” Hill said. “That’s the only reason I came.”
Veronica Savedra, 37, of Stockton, voted at the school with her mother, Hill. She said her mother prompted her to vote.
“My mom called and said, ‘Hey, did you vote? Are you going to vote?’ and I said, I guess so,” Savedra said.
Hill said she and her daughter usually vote by mail but went to vote in person because she could take time off work.
Asked what Election Day means to them, Savedra said it is a civic duty.
“It’s our right as Americans,” Savedra said.
Amy Goldsworth, 44, of Stockton, voted at Stribley Community Center. To decide who to vote for, she said she paid attention to who funded campaign advertising.
“I’d rather not admit who I voted for, but I was mostly into who pays for their commercials,” Goldsworth said. “Is it big corporations, PG&E stuff, or is it the little guy, more community-based stuff like that?”
Goldsworth said voting was important because it is a civic duty and her mother also influenced her view of voting.
“She raised me to be like, if you don’t vote to help make a change, then you’re not allowed to bitch about anything, and I like to bitch and moan,” Goldsworth said.
Goldsworth added that she has voted in every election since turning 18 years old.
Asked what voting means to her, she said it allows citizens to create change.
“If you don’t vote, then you can’t make a change,” Goldsworth said. “We’re one of the only countries in the world that gets to legally overthrow our government.”
Record reporter Hannah Workman covers news in Stockton and San Joaquin County. She can be reached at hworkman@recordnet.com or on Twitter @byhannahworkman.
Record reporter Victoria Franco covers public safety in Stockton and San Joaquin County. She can be reached at vfranco@gannett.com.
Record reporter Angelaydet Rocha covers business and community news in Stockton and San Joaquin County. She can be reached at arocha@recordnet.com or on Twitter @AngelaydetRocha. To support local news, subscribe to The Stockton Record at https://www.recordnet.com/subscribenow.
This article originally appeared on The Record: Stockton voters share reasons for voting in primary election
Reporting by Hannah Workman, Victoria Franco and Angelaydet Rocha, The Stockton Record / The Record
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