LIVE TONIGHT AT 6 PM PST: ONME News and Black Headline News begin the California Election Connection forum series

California Election Connection hosted by Black Headline News and ONME News intends to spotlight the issues among younger voters ages 18 to 40

By Black Headline News and ONME News

FRESNO, Calif. — The “California Election Connection” forum series beginning at 6:00 PM PST, Wednesday, September 23 weekly, ending October 28, will focus on California elections based on the recent news headlines, along with issues and concerns of younger voters, ages 18 to 40.

The California Election Connection hosted by Black Headline News, ONME News, is a weekly three-hour forum designed to focus on practical, voter-centered questions about the economy, housing, education, public safety, health care, climate, jobs, technology, voting access and the future of democracy.

California-specific research underscores why younger-voter outreach may be especially important heading into the 2026 election cycle. The Center for Inclusive Democracy at the USC Price School of Public Policy reported that California’s eligible voter turnout dropped by nearly five percentage points from 2020 to 2024. The decline was sharper among younger adults: eligible voters ages18 to 24 saw turnout fall by 7.7 percentage points, while voters ages 25 to 34 saw an 11.4-point decrease.

Those findings suggest that young Californians are not a guaranteed voting bloc, even in a state with high registration and broad access to voting options. The California Secretary of State’s election statistics show that the state continues to track participation by county, voting method, registration and age, and its 2024 Voter’s Choice Act summary noted a familiar pattern: turnout generally rises with age, while voters ages 18 to 25 typically have the lowest participation rates.

In California, those concerns are especially acute. Housing affordability remains one of the defining political issues for younger adults trying to build stable lives in high-cost regions. The cost of living, rent, transportation, childcare, access to health services and the ability to find family-sustaining jobs are expected to be central themes as candidates appear before younger moderators. National youth polling from CIRCLE after the 2024 election found that cost of living and inflation ranked as a leading concern for young people, alongside issues such as health care, abortion, climate and immigration.

Watch live tonight at this link with news publisher hosts, Julia Dudley Najieb, Cheryl Smith and Brigitte Jones.