Clinton, Sanders look to mobilize Calif. voters

Associated Press

BURBANK, CALIF.

Sue LaVaccare is fighting “the California complacency.”

With the presidency on the line, it’s the well-documented tendency of many voters in a state filled with sunshine and distractions to shrug at election days. And Southern California, a base of support for Hillary Clinton, has a notoriously uneven record when it comes to voter turnout.

“Most people know in their gut that Hillary is the most experienced,” says LaVaccare, a 47-year-old health care consultant and political fundraiser who is organizing volunteers for Clinton in the fiercely contested 28th Congressional District in Los Angeles County.

“What I think is our biggest challenge,” she says, “is getting her supporters to actually vote.”

While Clinton needs 71 delegates from several states voting June 7 to claim the Democratic nomination, the fight against rival Bernie Sanders in California has grown increasingly contentious as the Vermont senator gains in polling.

In California, 475 Democratic delegates will be divvied up on election day, the most of any state.