2016 Postmortem
In reply to the discussion: Some Tips to California Voters to Avoid Being Disenfranchised [View all]Retrograde
(10,137 posts)The rules are clearly summarized there: it even has a state-wide number to call if there are problems. You can download a copy here
BTW, the "NPP" designation is not new for this election. My ballot actually reads "Democratic - Non Partisan" because in some counties, Santa Clara for one, there are two different Democratic ballots - one for NPP voters who want to vote in the Democratic primary and one for registered Democrats that includes an election for party officials. No one is "disenfranchising" you if you're No Party Preference and aren't given the latter.
And most importantly, DON'T FORGET THE REST OF THE BALLOT! There is also a primary for US Senator open to all California voters - this will be the first time in 24 years that Boxer will not be on the ballot, so the race is wide open.
ETA: If the ballot you're given has Sanders buried in the middle of the candidates and your friend in a different part of the state says he was the last one listed, don't panic. California has a strange way of listing candidates to avoid biasing the vote towards the person at the head of the list. The Secretary of State draws letters at random, and uses those to order the candidates for each office in Assembly district 1. Then the names are rotated in each district so a different person is on top. Sanders got the first line on my ballot - it took a while to find my Senate choice in the field of 32.