In the last episode of The Strange World of Politics, I was walking around Culver City collecting signatures from registered voters so I could qualify to run for City Council.
Once I had enough signatures, it was time to go back to where this adventure started:
The Culver City city clerk's office.
I brought back my candidate binder and all the forms I had carefully completed.
The city clerk's staff reviewed everything.
Forms.
Signatures.
Dates.
Disclosures.
More forms.
Then something happened that made the whole experience suddenly feel very real.
I was sworn in.
After all the paperwork, signatures, instructions and government forms, I had gone from being someone who wanted to run for Culver City Council to someone who was actually running for Culver City Council.
For a brief moment, I felt like I had finished something.
I had figured out the process.
I had completed the forms.
I had collected the signatures.
I had turned everything in.
I had been sworn in.
Done.
Except I wasn't done.
Not even close.
Because becoming a candidate and running a campaign are apparently two completely different things.
Welcome to Episode 5 of The Strange World of Politics.
Okay. I'm a Candidate. Now What?
Once you leave the city clerk's office, something interesting happens.
The government has spent all this time explaining how to become a candidate.
But the government doesn't run your campaign for you.
Now you have to figure that part out yourself.
So I started with what seemed like the most obvious question imaginable:
Who exactly am I campaigning to?
The obvious answer:
The voters of Culver City.
Great.
Where are they?
Apparently, There Is a List
This was my next discovery.
Political campaigns don't necessarily begin by randomly walking around a city looking for people who might be registered to vote.
The government already has voter-registration records.
Because Culver City is in Los Angeles County, voter information for legitimate election purposes can be obtained through the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk.
Los Angeles County even provides voter/election files for particular cities, districts and precincts.
So one of the first things a campaign can do is obtain the voter file for the jurisdiction where the candidate is running.
In my case:
Culver City.
But this raised another question.
Wait — Can Anyone Get This Information?
No.
And I think this is important for voters to understand.
Voter-registration information isn't simply a giant public spreadsheet that anyone can download and use for whatever they want.
California restricts access to detailed voter-registration information and restricts what authorized recipients can do with it.
Certain people and organizations can obtain voter information for legally permitted purposes.
That includes candidates for public office when the information is being used for election or campaign purposes.
Other authorized uses can include certain governmental, election, academic, journalistic and political purposes, subject to California law and the applicable requirements.
In other words, being a candidate gives me a legitimate reason to request this information:
I am running in an election and need to communicate with the electorate.
But that doesn't mean I suddenly own the information or can do whatever I want with it.
There are rules.
The information must be used for an authorized purpose.
It has to be handled appropriately.
It cannot simply be turned into an unrelated commercial mailing list.
And highly sensitive information isn't handed over to campaigns.
For example, campaigns don't receive your Social Security number, driver's-license number or your signature.
Most importantly:
We don't get to see your ballot.
So What Can a Candidate Learn?
This was the part that surprised me.
I originally pictured a voter list as something like:
John Smith
123 Main Street
Culver City
Useful.
I can knock on John's door.
But authorized voter-registration information can contain considerably more than a name and address, depending on what information is available and releasable.
It may include things such as:
Name
Residential address
Mailing address
Precinct
Party preference
Registration information
And one particularly interesting category:
Voting participation history.
That last one caught my attention.
Can I See Who You Voted For?
No.
This distinction is extremely important.
Your ballot is secret.
A candidate cannot open a database and discover:
John Smith voted for Candidate A.
Or:
Jane Smith voted against Proposition X.
That's not what voting history means.
Instead, it can show whether someone participated in a particular election.
For example:
2022 General Election — Voted
2024 Primary Election — Voted
2024 General Election — Voted
2026 Primary Election — Voted
The campaign knows that person participated.
It does not know whom that person voted for.
And suddenly I understood why campaigns want this information.
Politics Just Became Data Analysis
Imagine two registered voters.
One has voted in practically every election for the past several years.
Another has been registered for years but rarely votes.
Both are citizens.
Both are registered voters.
Both deserve to be heard.
But from the perspective of a campaign with limited money, volunteers and time, their voting histories provide different information about how likely they may be to participate in the upcoming election.
That doesn't tell me what either person believes.
It doesn't tell me whether either person likes me.
It doesn't even guarantee that the frequent voter will vote this time.
But it gives the campaign another piece of information.
And now I understand something I never really thought about before becoming a candidate:
Those political door knocks aren't necessarily random.
For your Culver City Council campaign, the most direct route is to obtain the voter file from the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk (RR/CC). Los Angeles County specifically offers voter/election files for a city, precinct, or district, so you do not need to purchase the entire Los Angeles County voter database. The current listed price for information for a precinct, district, or city is $54 for the first file.
Step 1 — Download the Los Angeles County Purchase Order
Use the Los Angeles County form called:
“Purchase Order for Voter/Election File(s)”
Official form: Download the LA County voter-file purchase order
The form allows you to identify a particular jurisdiction and specifically asks whether you want voting history data.
Step 2 — Fill In Your Applicant Information
Enter your:
Full name
Residence address
City, state and ZIP code
Telephone number
Business/campaign address, if applicable
Business/campaign telephone number
Because you are requesting the information for your candidacy, your intended purpose should clearly be related to your Culver City Council campaign/election activities.
California law specifically permits candidates for local office to obtain voter-registration information for election purposes.
Step 3 — Request Culver City Rather Than All of Los Angeles County
On the portion asking for the jurisdiction, write:
City of Culver City
You want the voter file for voters within the jurisdiction in which the Culver City Council election is held.
The county currently lists:
Los Angeles County-wide voter file: $146
Precinct/district/city file: $54
Additional file: $39
Therefore, for what we are doing, I would begin with the $54 Culver City file, rather than buying the $146 countywide file.
Step 4 — Request Voting History
This is extremely important.
The form asks:
“Would you like Voting History data?”
Select:
YES
Then it asks you to list the elections you want.
Voting history tells you that someone participated in a particular election. It does not reveal whom they voted for.
For campaign strategy, I would ask for several recent elections rather than only one.
At minimum, request participation data for recent:
Presidential general elections
Gubernatorial general elections
Primary elections
Culver City municipal elections
Special/local elections involving Culver City, when available
The purpose is eventually to identify people such as:
Very high propensity voter
Voted in almost every election.
High propensity local voter
Regularly votes when Culver City Council candidates are on the ballot.
Presidential-only voter
Usually appears primarily during presidential elections.
Occasional voter
Votes irregularly.
New voter
Recently registered and has little or no voting history.
This will become one of the most important variables in your campaign database.
Step 5 — Ask for the Current Voter File
You want the voter-registration file to be as current as possible.
When speaking with the Registrar's office, tell them:
“I am a candidate for Culver City Council and would like the current voter-registration file for the City of Culver City, together with available voter participation history.”
Also ask:
“Can you confirm that the jurisdiction file contains all registered voters eligible to vote in the Culver City Council election?”
That last question matters because we want the electoral jurisdiction, not simply every address with a Culver City postal designation.
Step 6 — Consider Requesting Precinct/District Information
The purchase form also provides an option for Precinct/District Information.
I recommend obtaining it.
Precinct information will let us eventually organize the campaign geographically.
Instead of looking at 30,000+ voters as one huge group, we can analyze something like:
Precinct A
Registered voters: 1,250
High-propensity voters: 730
Likely supporters: 180
Undecided/persuadable voters: 300
Precinct B
Registered voters: 980
High-propensity voters: 540
Likely supporters: 250
That can help determine where canvassers, mail, volunteers and candidate time should be concentrated.
Step 7 — Include Your Identification
If you submit the request by mail, Los Angeles County says to include a copy of your driver's license. The purchase-order instructions specifically state this requirement.
California regulations also require applicants seeking protected voter-registration information to provide government-issued photo identification, along with the required application and fee.
Follow the current instructions on the county form when submitting your identification.
Step 8 — Sign and Initial the Agreement
Do not skip this section.
The form contains several agreements governing what you may do with the data.
Among other things, you agree that the voter information:
Will be used only for legally authorized purposes.
Will be maintained securely.
Will not simply be sold, loaned or distributed to unauthorized people.
Will not be used for unrelated commercial purposes.
The county form specifically warns that unauthorized use can have legal consequences.
So initial every required agreement line and sign the application.
Step 9 — Pay the Fee
For a Culver City jurisdiction file, the current county information indicates:
First city/district/precinct file: $54
Additional file:
$39
Countywide Los Angeles County voter file:
$146
Before submitting payment, I would call the Registrar and confirm that the $54 file can be limited to the City of Culver City and includes the voter-registration fields you need.
Step 10 — Submit It to the Registrar
Los Angeles County lists the Election Information Section at:
Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk
Election Information Section
12400 Imperial Highway, Room 2013
Norwalk, CA 90650
The county says requests may be handled in person, and its voter-information pages provide this address for mailed requests.
For questions, call:
(800) 815-2666 — Option 4
That is the number Los Angeles County provides for purchasing election information.
I would make this phone call before mailing anything.
Say:
“My name is Franklin Carvajal. I am a candidate for Culver City Council. I want to purchase the current voter-registration file for voters eligible to participate in the Culver City Council election, along with their available voting participation history and precinct information. I have the Voter/Election File Purchase Order. Can you tell me exactly which boxes I should select and confirm the current fee?”
That should eliminate most possibilities for ordering the wrong file.
Step 11 — Make Sure You Are Getting the Actual Data File
Los Angeles County provides voter/election information electronically as a text data file (.txt). The Registrar explicitly notes that purchasers are responsible for importing/manipulating that data in a database or similar application.
Do not worry about that part.
That is where I can help you.
You don't need to know how to manipulate a raw .txt voter database.
Step 12 — When You Receive the File, Upload It Here
Once the Registrar gives you the data, upload the original file here without changing it first.
I can then help you convert the raw voter file into a usable campaign database.
The available voter-registration information may include, depending on the individual record:
Name
Residential address
Mailing address
Precinct
Party preference
Registration date
Date of birth
Telephone number
Email address
Language preference
Registration status
Voting participation history
California regulations identify these among the fields that may be included in voter-registration information provided to authorized recipients.
Not every voter will have every field.
Step 13 — Then We Build Your Master Culver City Voter Database
I recommend that we preserve the original government data and create a separate campaign working database.
A simplified structure could become:
VoterAddressPrecinctRegistration202220242026 PrimaryVoting FrequencyJane SmithCulver City101Active✓✓✓Very HighJohn JonesCulver City101Active—✓—MediumMaria GarciaCulver City102Active✓✓✓Very High
We would not know whom they voted for. Voting history only identifies participation. California specifically prohibits the voter history file from revealing a voter's ballot selections.
Step 14 — Turn the Voter List Into Campaign Universes
The database can then be divided into campaign-management groups, for example:
Universe 1 — Likely Voters
People with a strong history of voting.
These should generally receive substantial campaign attention because they are comparatively likely to cast a ballot.
Universe 2 — Local-Election Voters
People who repeatedly participate when Culver City contests are on the ballot.
This may be even more useful than simply knowing who votes in presidential elections.
Universe 3 — New Registrants
Newly registered Culver City voters.
They may not have enough historical elections to establish a turnout pattern yet.
Universe 4 — Occasional Voters
People with intermittent participation.
Universe 5 — Low-Propensity Voters
Registered voters who rarely participate.
This doesn't mean ignoring them, but campaign resources can be managed differently.
Step 15 — Add Your Own Campaign Data
The government voter file becomes Layer 1.
Your campaign then generates Layer 2 through voter contact.
For example:
VoterTurnoutContactedCandidate SupportIssueFollow-upSmithHighYesSupportHousingYard signJonesHighYesUndecidedTrafficFollow upGarciaHighYesSupportSafetyVolunteerLeeMediumNoUnknown—Knock
That is when the voter file starts becoming an actual campaign field operation.
What You Should Do First
Download the LA County Voter/Election File Purchase Order.
Call (800) 815-2666, Option 4.
Tell them you are a candidate for Culver City Council.
Request the City of Culver City voter-registration file.
Confirm it contains voters eligible to vote in the Culver City Council election.
Select Voting History — YES.
Ask for recent election participation history.
Ask for precinct/district information.
Confirm the current $54 jurisdiction-file fee.
Complete and initial the confidentiality/use agreement.
Provide the required identification.
Sign the form.
Submit the form and payment.
Keep the resulting voter information secure.
Upload the original electronic voter file here when you receive it.
The Campaign Strategy After That
Getting the list is only Phase 1.
I suggest we build the campaign in this sequence:
Official voter file
↓
Identify likely Culver City voters
↓
Map voters by precinct and neighborhood
↓
Collect your own voter-contact information
↓
Identify supporters, undecideds and issue priorities
↓
Create canvassing and outreach universes
↓
Track supporters who have actually voted
↓
Election-day turnout operation
The official voter file gives us the foundation. Your campaign's contacts, conversations, canvassing and polling then add the intelligence needed to build the campaign around it.
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