At 11 a.m. on Friday a polling place at the Richmond Memorial Auditorium opened its doors to local residents looking to vote early in-person in the June 2 primary election.
This year’s primary is unique because it’s the first time voters could decide local races this way. If candidates in the races for mayor and two city council seats receive more than a majority of the votes cast, they’ll win. If not, the top two vote-getters go head-to-head in the November General Election. This is the result of Measure J, passed in 2024, which created a top-two primary system for local elections.
Voters Richmondside spoke to were generally excited to cast their ballots. As Contra Costa County poll workers were setting up signs to direct them to the right place, next to the library, residents began to trickle in.
Early in-person voting
What: You can vote early in the June 2 primary at the Richmond Memorial Auditorium, 403 Civic Center Plaza.
When: Sat., May 30, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Mon., June 1, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. (A handful of early polling places are also open at other locations countywide. Visit the county elections website and click on “Regional Early Voting Sites.”)
More info.: Visit Richmondside’s primary election voter guide for more resources and stories about local races.
“It’s a good experience that finally I’m able to vote, and I’m able to have some sort of power over these decisions,” said first-time voter Brianna Alonso, 18, who stressed the importance of voting as a young person. “I think it’s very important for us as youths to be informed, especially since we’re the ones carrying on the effects that are made by these people in power,” she said.
John Cunningham Jr., who walked over on his lunch break to cast his ballot, was also intent on having his voice heard.
“I am excited to vote,” he said. “It is a mix of emotions for me, though, because you hope that the person that you vote for wins. You also hope that the initiatives that you believe will help push the agendas for the populations that we are part of here… that those would generate results.”
Cunningham said his primary concern is with the local races, explaining that he thinks that Richmond needs a change in leadership.
“It’s time that some of the old guard will allow the younger generations to take part in our democracy in a way that will help us to move forward,” he said. “They have ears to the ground as to what’s really needed and they’re not so detached from the realities that most people live in.”
Local leadership, said Cunningham, is best-equipped to effect change. “Our local government affects our streets, affects our schools, and affects our community centers… we don’t need the state Legislature, or someone from Riverside, telling us how we should live.”
For newly arrived Richmond resident Paul Pinkman, statewide issues — such as rising prices and environmental issues — are the most concerning. “There’s a lot of push to reintroduce all of the fossil fuel stuff, which I think is a huge mistake,” he said.
Pinkman, who moved here a year ago, said he did not know enough about local offices to make considered decisions.
“I’m only just getting to know about all of that,” he said. “I’m happy here. But I’d like to see it continue to improve.”
Other issues at the forefront of voters’ minds included clean streets, access to parks and green space, and education, though there are no WCCUSD races on the primary ballot.
“It’s sad to me that a 15-year-old is still not able to add, or they feel so out of place without their phones,” said a Richmond resident who only gave her first name, Sarah.
For Susan Weinberg, a teacher and local business owner, having a safe, clean, and livable environment is paramount. “I want my parks, my green space, my marina, safe and clean to walk around and take my dogs and kids and grandkids,” she said.
Most voters were aware that this primary could decide local races but said they would have shown up to vote anyways. “We always vote in the elections,” said a man who gave his name only as Bill, a 25-year Richmond resident. “Need the right person.”
“I do my research,” Sarah said. “I feel like if I don’t vote, then everything my ancestors went through, it was for naught.”
