California's June Primary Gets Extra $16M As Interest Surges

SACRAMENTO (AP) — California's Legislature is approving $16 million to help county election officials deal with a surge of interest in the June primary and a crush of petition signatures for ballot measures.

The Assembly and Senate approved the funding in unanimous votes Thursday, sending AB120 to Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown.

Democratic Sen. Mark Leno of San Francisco says the money will help counties manage an influx of new registered voters ahead of the June 7 primary. Leno says about 600,000 new voters have registered so far as California's presidential primary looks to be decisive for the first time in decades.

Counties also face deadlines to verify thousands of signatures from groups seeking to place nearly two dozen initiatives on the November ballot.

Secretary of State Alex Padilla had requested $32 million.

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