<!-- Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ --></p> <p>from <a href=""https://calmatters.org/author/sonya-quick/"" title=""Posts" by="" sonya="" quick="" class=""author" url="" fn="" rel=""author"">Sonya Barza</a>CalMatters</p> <figure> <img decoding="async" width=""1200"" height=""800"" src=""https://i0.wp.com/calmatters.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/050826-Voting-Matters-DH-CM.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1"" class=""attachment-post-thumbnail" size-post-thumbnail="" wp-post-image="" alt=""A" presentation="" slide="" reading="" matters="" by="" calmatters="" is="" projected="" on="" a="" screen="" at="" the="" front="" of="" room="" with="" graphic="" hand="" placing="" ballot="" into="" box.="" in="" foreground="" table="" covered="" calmatters-branded="" cloth="" displays="" pamphlets="" stickers="" and="" sign-in="" sheets.="" off="" to="" right="" two="" people="" stand="" near="" wall="" looking="" down="" booklet="" together="" as="" they="" talk.="" clock="" hangs="" above="" them="" window="" lets="" daylight.="" decoding=""async"" loading=""lazy"" srcset=""https://i0.wp.com/calmatters.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/050826-Voting-Matters-DH-CM.jpg?w=2000&ssl=1" https:="" sizes=""auto,"/><figcaption>CalMatters’ first 2026 VotingMatters event with Lake Tahoe Community College in Tahoe City. Photo by Dan Hu, CalMatters</figcaption></figure> <p>This story was originally published by <a href=""https://calmatters.org/"">CalMatters</a>. <a href=""https://calmatters.org/subscribe-to-calmatters/"">Sign up</a> for their newsletters.</p> <p>CalMatters is on the road throughout May, bringing our popular <a href=""https://calmatters.org/california-voter-guide-2026/"">2026 Voter’s Guide</a> to life during private conversations in the California community.</p> <p>Our VotingMatters events are produced in collaboration with on-the-ground partners – local news organizations, colleges, libraries, churches and nonprofits. Together, we bring people together for civic conversations focused on issues that Californians call “engaging,” “informative,” and “democracy at its best.”</p> <p>In 2024, across dozens of events, we heard from first-time voters at our 180-attendee Cal State LA event, saw landlords and tenants—both still reeling from the aftermath of the 2018 Camp Fire—find common ground on Proposition 33 at our Chico event, and heard from KVCR Executive Director Connie M. Leyva, who closed with “Democracy, as messy as it gets be works when people engage and participate,” at our San Bernardino event.</p> <p><strong><em>NOTE: </em></strong><em>Check back through the primary as we update this post with more information.</em></p> <ul> <li><strong>Noon Tuesday, May 5 in Tahoe City</strong> with Lake Tahoe Community College at the Lisa Maloff University Center (One College Drive, 96150)</li> <li><strong>6 p.m. Wednesday, May 6 in Sacramento </strong>at the Valley Hi-North Laguna Library (7400 Imagination Parkway, 95823) with the Sacramento Public Library and the California State Library</li> <li><strong>3:00 p.m. Thursday, May 7 at Fresno</strong> with Fresno City College in the Old Administration Building, Room 188 (1101 East University Ave., 93741) – <a href=""https://www.therampageonline.com/news/2026/05/05/calmatters-voting-event-at-fcc/"">more information here</a></li> <li><strong>6:00 PM Monday, May 11 in Montecito</strong> at Montecito Community Hall (1469 E Valley Rd., 93108) with Noozhawk</li> <li><strong>6:00 p.m. Tuesday, May 12 in San Francisco</strong> with the San Francisco Main Library in Corrett Auditorium at (100 Larkin St., 94102) with the California State Library – <a href=""https://sfpl.org/events/2026/05/12/panel-primaries-calmatters"">more information here</a></li> <li><strong>11:30 a.m. Tuesday, May 12 in Camarillo</strong> at Institution Ale Co. (3841 Mission Oaks Blvd., 93012) with the Ventura County Star (meal provided)</li> <li><strong>6:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 13 in Los Angeles</strong> with the Center for Democracy at the Japanese American National Museum (100 North Central Ave., 90012) – <a href=""https://www.janm.org/democracy/events/2026-05-13/voting-matters-your-burning-questions-about-primary-election-answered"">register to participate</a> (meal provided)</li> <li><strong>5:00 p.m., Thursday, May 14 at Bakersfield</strong> at Imbibe Wine and Spirits (4140 Truxton Ave., 93309) with Kern Sol News (food provided)</li> <li><strong>Friday, May 15 in Redlands</strong> with Riverside Record, Raincross Gazette, Inland Empire Law Weekly and Community Forward Redlands (time and exact location to be determined)</li> <li><strong>4:00 p.m. Monday, May 18 at Fremont</strong> at the Fremont Main Library (2400 Stevenson Blvd., 94538) with Alameda County Libraries</li> <li><strong>Tuesday, May 19 in Vallejo</strong> with Parent Teacher Leadership Institute (meals provided), event will include Spanish interpretation (time and exact location to be determined)</li> <li><strong>6 p.m. Wednesday, May 20 at San Francisco</strong> at The Mills Building (220 Montgomery St., 94104) with KALW – <a href=""https://www.eventbrite.com/e/voting-matters-california-primary-voter-guide-live-with-calmatters-tickets-1988606874694#location"">register to participate</a></li> <li><strong>6:00pm Friday, May 22 at Davis</strong> in the Blanchard Room at Stephens Davis Public Library (315 E. 14th St., 95616) with abbreviated / PBS KVIE, Yolo Local Library and Yolo County Library</li> <li><strong>6 p.m. Tuesday, May 26 at Merced</strong> at The Partisan (432 West Main St., 95340) with The Merced Focus and Central Valley Journalism Collaborative (food provided)</li> <li><strong>6 p.m. Tuesday, May 26 at Fresno</strong> at the Big Red Church (2131 N Van Ness Blvd., 93704) with Fresnoland. This will be a special election bingo event!</li> <li><strong>Wednesday, May 27 in Modesto</strong> at Contentment Brewing Co. (208 Campus Way, 95350) with The Modesto Focus and Central Valley Journalism Collaborative (food provided) (time to be determined)</li> </ul> <h2><strong>Host your own VotingMatters event</strong></h2> <p>We make it easy for anyone in California to host their own VotingMatters event. We’ve put together a kit that includes slides, event planning suggestions, an online version of our voter guide magazine, marketing materials, and more. Whether you’re a teacher with a class full of students or an avid reader looking to throw an election-themed house party, you’ll have the resources you need.</p> <p>VotingMatters events work best when friends and neighbors come together to discuss these issues with each other, so CalMatters materials are designed to be educational and helpful in having civil and informative conversations. You don’t have to be an election expert yourself – you just need to help facilitate a discussion.</p> <p>If you would like to host your own VotingMatters event, contact Sonya Quick at sonya@calmatters.org.</p> <p>This article was <a href=""https://calmatters.org/inside-the-newsroom/2026/05/voting-matters-primary-events/"">originally published on CalMatters</a> and is republished under <a href=""https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/"">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivatives</a> license.</p> <p> Copy the HTML
