Today is Election Day and your vote is needed to winnow down numbers of candidates in partisan offices and give your yea or nay to issues such as insurance, election rules and who controls the electric plant.

Candidates from their respective parties are hoping you will put them on the November General Election ballot in the Governor, Lt. Governor, Secretary of State, Controller, Treasurer, Attorney General, Insurance Commissioner and Member of the State Board of Equalization. Legislators awaiting your vote include hopefuls for the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, and the State Assembly.

Five Superior Court judges are also up for approval and the nonpartisan office of Superintendent of Public Instruction is up for grabs, with incumbent Jack O’Connell termed out.

Thirteen people are competing for County Assessor and Sheriff Lee Baca is running unopposed.

State Measures include:

• Prop. 13, which protects against a reassessment when a building is seismically retrofitted.
• Prop. 14, which changes the primary election process for congressional, statewide and legislative races from partisan ballots to an open election, regardless of the voters’ party or affiliation.
• Prop. 15, which repeals a ban on public funding of political campaigns and uses the office of Secretary of State as a test case for candidates using public campaign grants funded by increased lobbyist fees.
• Prop. 16, which imposes a two-thirds voter approval for local public electricity providers and
• Prop. 17 which allows auto insurance companies to base prices on driver history, not continuous coverage.

Don’t expect those annoying ads to stop because the election is over, though. This is just a warm up for November, when the winners of Tuesday’s contest go head to head. To find your polling place, click here.

*KHTS has been told that Pinetree Elementary School is listed as a polling place, but it will not be participating. Signs should be posted at the school giving the alternative polling place. This information will also be posted on this website when it becomes available.