The cities of Lakewood, Beverly Hills, Hidden Hills, San Gabriel, City of Industry, Monrovia, and Rolling Hills had originally scheduled municipal elections for March 2, but canceled because no candidates stepped forward to challenge city council incumbents. State law allows cities to cancel elections when there is a lack of competition as a way to save money. Some observers cited voter apathy, the high cost of running for office, and a general contentment with the status quo as prime reasons for the canceled elections. But there's more to it than that. First of all, there's a lot of confusion about elections in California.
Most voters go to the polls at least once a year.
Given the lack of public information and media coverage, plus general voter confusion and burnout, it should surprise no one that turnout for these municipal elections is abysmally low, or that they fail to draw many candidates. Some cities consolidate their local contests with state and federal elections held in even-numbered years. This helps increase participation, but the downside is that the municipal elections are often overshadowed by the higher-profile federal and state contests. Some counties, like Los Angeles, now offer a search feature on their web site where you can type in your address and find out all the political districts you live in. I searched my parents' address in Culver City, and found out they live in 15 different political districts, including the L.A. County Flood Control District and the Metropolitan Water District.