Call it the battle of the home screens. Text messages have become the latest go-to tactic for political candidates. Which is why your phone is blowing up with urgent messages to vote, donate and get to the polls.
Guest writer Mason Herron, a political consultant at Edgewater Strategies, breaks down the reasons texting dominates this year’s election cycle. In short: texts are cheap and easy to send; cell phone numbers are plentiful on voter registration forms; and no candidate wants to be left out of the latest campaign trend.
A single piece of direct mail sent to voters in a citywide race such as the contest for San Diego mayor can cost candidates up to $200,000, Herron writes. The same message sent by text? Just $20,000. No wonder candidates embrace the tactic.
One consolation: At least you don’t have to haul all those deleted texts to the recycle bin.
The Stakes: San Diego’s Sales Tax
Election Day is tomorrow.
There are several races and ballot measures we’re going to watch as results roll in Tuesday night and the city of San Diego’s Measure E is no exception.
If you’re still wondering what Measure E would do, our Will Huntsberry explains in a new piece. The measure would increase San Diego’s sales tax by one percent. The city has one of the lowest sales tax rates in the state. Proponents say it’s vital voters approve it to help pay for the city’s massive backlog of infrastructure projects.
Opponents argue the additional revenue will not be well spent. What do you think?
VOSD Podcast: Election Draft Picks!
Our hosts and special guest Andrew Keatts with Axios San Diego take turns breaking down the races on this year’s ballot.
Do the underdog candidates have a shot? Social media producer Bella Ross joins the show for a special election tarot card reading.
Listen to the full episode here.
Do you have your own election predictions? We want to know! Our Scott Lewis, in collaboration with Andrew Keatts, is running the annual elections contest. Read the Politics Report to learn more.
The Politics Report is available exclusively to Voice of San Diego members. To get access, become a member here and subscribe to the weekly politics newsletter.
Sacramento Report: AI Regulation Strikes Out at Capitol
Numerous attempts to rein in the surging artificial intelligence industry–including two by state Sen. Steve Padilla–fell short in this year’s legislative session, writes our Deborah Sullivan.
Lawmakers proposed more than a dozen bills aiming to set guardrails around the powerful technology, including ethics guidelines, rules for AI use in schools, bans on cyberattacks and a curb on training powerful AI systems.
All failed to make it out of the legislature or were vetoed by Gov. Gavin Newsom. One of Padilla’s bills would have imposed “safety, privacy and nondiscrimination standards” on state contractors using AI technology. Newsom vetoed the bill, saying it was too costly and conflicted with other state rules.
Padilla’s other bill aimed to establish a “California AI Research Hub.” That bill, deemed costly in a legislative analysis, never made it out of committee.
Though two bills–a ban on digitally created child pornography and beefed up disclosure requirements for AI training systems–were signed into law, the overall lack of legislative results shows the challenge of regulating a quickly evolving (and lucrative) technology that’s changing how people learn, trade, communicate and vote.
Read the Sacramento Report here.
In Other News
- The California Fair Political Practices Commission announced last week it is investigating two conflict of interest complaints against County Supervisor Jim Desmond. The complaints stem from Desmond’s efforts to defeat countywide sales tax Measure G and a campaign donation from an affordable housing developer. (Union-Tribune)
- The New York Times reports on burnout among the nation’s librarians as libraries become de facto homeless shelters. The story describes the San Diego Central Library as “plagued by overdoses, vandalism, fights and thefts.” “The psychological damage — that’s what lasts,” says library director Misty Jones.
- San Diego State University students were rocked by two tragedies on the same day late last week: A shooting at the campus trolley station and a brush fire that started near a homeless encampment. One man was wounded in the shooting. The non-injury fire damaged homes and forced evacuations and street closures. (KPBS)
The Morning Report was written by Jim Hinch and Andrea Lopez-Villafaña.