Cal Humanities

"The understanding of a culture comes from hearing the language, tasting the food, seeing personal interactions, experiencing the traditions, and so much more in context."

— Elizabeth Laval & Candice Pendergrass, Sikh Youth Public History Project

"The understanding of a culture comes from hearing the language, tasting the food, seeing personal interactions, experiencing the traditions, and so much more when it is in context."

— Elizabeth Laval & Candice Pendergrass, Sikh Youth Public History Project

Multiple hands in various colors hold papers. Behind them is an outline of the state of California.

California on the Ballot: Season Two Highlights

The newest installment of our California on the Ballot series sought to explore persistent demographic gaps at the polls, as well as other imbalances in our state’s electoral processes.

In the 2020 election, 71% of Californians cast ballots. That’s an extraordinary number—the state’s highest voter turnout since 1952. Yet this high-water mark came with a major asterisk.

“Those who turned out to vote remained older, whiter, wealthier, and more educated than the [state’s] adult population at large,” said Alisa Belinkoff Katz, moderator of Equity at the Polls: Voter Access in California.

What barriers—material, historical, geographical, social—keep Californians from voting? Hear 16 California speakers address this topic in the programs and media below.  

California on the Ballot: Season Two | Highlights Reel

California on the Ballot Season 2 Video Reel, edited by Athena Alvarado, studiotobe, Oakland.

Executive Summary


White Paper


Resources for Further Engagement


Virtual Series: Playlist of all Events


California on the Ballota free series of public events, invites the people of California and beyond to reflect and talk – with neighbors, historians, election experts, and more – about the past, present and future of electoral engagement in California. For more information, write to Associate Program Officer Kirsten Vega at kvega@calhum.org.

California on the Ballot is made possible by funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities as part of their A More Perfect Union Initiative and was launched with funding from the Why it Matters: Civic and Electoral Participation initiative, administered by the Federation of State Humanities Councils and funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

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