Guest Opinion | Juliana Serrano: Ballots Have Arrived, It’s Time to Vote

My mail-in ballot arrived and I can’t wait to cast my vote. I will do so with a smile on my face… there’s an energy around this election that we didn’t see a few months ago and I’m hopeful we’ll see renewed interest reflected at the polls in November.

Voter turnout in the 2024 March primary was disappointing, with only 35% of eligible Californians having voted. That was the lowest turnout in 18 years! In Los Angeles County, which includes Pasadena and the San Gabriel Valley, only 29% of eligible voters, cast a ballot. To put this into perspective, in both the 2016 and 2020 presidential primary elections, California voter turnout was at about 48%.

More and more voters, especially young people, are motivated to vote based on values and social issues they support, rather than candidates they “like”. This shift, in part, is why Planned Parenthood Advocates Pasadena and San Gabriel Valley (PP Advocates) was founded. We are a values-based organization and believe everyone deserves access to quality, safe, affordable sexual and reproductive health care. We value elected representatives who will work to protect and expand access to sexual and reproductive health care, including abortion, because it is basic health care and a human right. PP Advocates exists because the values we uphold are shared by our community and neighbors.

Today, 22 states have abortion bans or significant abortion restrictions in spite of the fact that recent nation-wide polling revealed that 80% of Americans believe that patients and their doctors should be trusted to make personal medical decisions about their bodies, not politicians. Come this November, though, everything can change if we don’t elect a House of Representatives majority of pro-abortion champions and elect a pro-abortion President. That is why PP Advocates joined forces with Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California in statewide campaign aimed at exposing extremist politicians who, if elected, plan to further erode our reproductive freedom. Despite all that we have accomplished in California to protect and expand abortion rights and access, we stand to lose everything if a national abortion ban is enacted. Our goal is to elect a pro-abortion Congress and prevent more attacks on reproductive freedom.

PP Advocates also supports two important state ballot measures – Prop 3 and Prop 35. YES on Prop 3 would enshrine the right to same-sex marriage into the California constitution, repealing Proposition 8 — a measure approved by voters in 2008 that defined marriage as between a man and a woman. With recent threats on fundamental rights, it is time for California to enshrine the right to same-sex marriage. YES on Prop 35 is a crucial step toward health equity and accessibility. It secures desperately needed stable funding for Medi-Cal, which serves the most vulnerable communities – low-income families, people of color, those with disabilities, and half of our state’s children. These groups already face significant barriers to accessing medical and dental care, and Prop 35 helps level the playing field.

We must get more eligible voters to turn out and vote their values in the November election, so that people won’t continue will to lose the right to control their own bodies, here in California and across the nation. Expect to hear from PP Advocates reminding you to vote in the next couple of weeks. Our dedicated volunteers will be texting voters throughout the San Gabriel Valley and mailing hand-written postcards with reminders to vote. We want a future with reproductive freedom for all – no matter who you are, where you live, or how much money you make. It’s our bodies, our votes, our futures. Make sure you vote and ensure everyone you know is eligible, votes on or before November 5.

Juliana Serrano, Executive Director
Planned Parenthood Advocates Pasadena & San Gabriel Valley