The June primary election is less than a week away and elections officials all over the state have been gearing up and getting ready. Some election-watchers are predicting a significantly larger voter turnout than we’ve seen recently, based on substantial new voter registration activity and the big ticket contests. County election officers have simultaneously begun spending time and resources validating signatures for initiatives trying to qualify for the November ballot.

This is the first year under a new law that moves petition-driven ballot initiatives to November—thus requiring the signature validation process to overlap the June primary date. The state has set aside an additional $16 million for counties to help defray the costs of doing all this work simultaneously.