Polls open this morning at 7 a.m. for voters across California who will be deciding a wide range of local, state and national races.  Today’s polling will include a historic “top-two” system for all legislative, Congressional and constitutional offices.  The top-two vote-getting candidates in those races, regardless of party affiliation, will be placed on the November general election ballot.  The top-two system does not apply to the presidential primary races or to local elections.  That means outcomes for Superior court Judge and County Supervisor District 1, District 2 and District 5 could be decided in this election if one candidate gets more than 50% of the vote.
A new Field Poll released today shows California may have a record low turnout for the state presidential primary.  The poll estimates six-million people will vote in today’s primary, a number representing 35-percent of registered voters.  That would set a new record low for the state, dropping below 1996, which saw only 41-point-nine-percent of voters head to the polls.
The Nevada County elections office reports voting figures on a par with the Field Poll results. As of last evening only about 35 percent of mail in ballots had been returned to the elections office. Mail voters can still deliver their ballots to the elections office today or  drop them off at any polling location.  The Nevada County elections office anticipates posting the first results around 9 o’clock this evening on the county website.