Newsletter: Essential Politics: A New York state of mind

Good morning from the state capital. I’m Sacramento Bureau Chief John Myers, and the big day in the Big Apple is finally here.

While California may be gearing up for contested presidential primaries, New Yorkers will cast votes today to help sketch out just how contested things are going to be.

START SPREADIN’ THE NEWS

Evan Halper and Mark Z. Barabak have a guide for what to watch for tonight in New York. And as Barabak writes, size does matter when it comes to Donald Trump’s expected victory tonight. As the quest for the magic number of delegates continues, it will need to be yuuge to help him overcome his losses behind the scenes.

On the Democratic side, Hillary Clinton was using the fact she’ll be making history if elected as she made the final stops on the New York campaign trail, as Cathleen Decker reports.

We’ll have results, real-time analysis and live reports from the campaign headquarters on Trail Guide. For breaking news, make sure you’re following @latimespolitics.

INDEPENDENT VOTERS: FORM OVER SUBSTANCE?

We’ve heard from dozens of Californians through emails and social media who checked out our big Sunday story on people mistakenly choosing the American Independent Party instead of being a nonpartisan “independent.” A big reason we published the story now was to allow voters who wanted to change their registration to do so before the deadline, which is May 23.

But in the course of my reporting, one thing kept coming back to the forefront: the voter registration card, the place with the big decision to pick a party or remain unaffiliated. Why isn’t the card written in simpler language?

In this morning’s story, we examine how that voter registration document has been rewritten twice in the past decade — the last time, thanks to the dead-of-night political deal that ushered in California’s top-two primary.

“The language, I would say, ought to be reviewed,” said Assemblyman Kevin Mullin (D-South San Francisco), author of other election-related efforts in recent years.

And a reminder: We want to hear from you if (c’mon, you can tell us) you were tripped up by confusion over the word “independent.”

SUSPICIOUS CAR NEAR STATE CAPITOL

For several hours on Monday afternoon, a busy legislative day at the state Capitol came to a standstill, after a man parked his car in the middle of the street next to the historic building and barricaded himself inside. As Phil Willon reports, the Assembly adjourned early after police surrounded the suspect’s car and cordoned off several city blocks. The state Senate, though, kept on going.

In the end, the suspect surrendered peacefully as police tried to figure out why he did it in the first place.

A HUMBLING DAY

Here’s how publisher and editor-in-chief Davan Maharaj framed Monday’s Pulitzer win by the Los Angeles Times in his newsletter today:

“It was tragic and heartbreaking event that left 14 people dead — the biggest terrorist attack on U.S. soil since 9/11. Now, The Times’ coverage of the San Bernardino attack and its aftermath has won the Pulitzer Prize for breaking news.”

Also of note in The Times family: The Pulitzer Board named Steve Lopez as a finalist in the commentary category for his columns on wealth inequality in Southern California, and one of our critics-at-large, Viet Thanh Nguyen, won the fiction prize for his novel “The Sympathizer.”

TODAY’S ESSENTIALS

— Rep. Grace Napolitano is back at work in Washington after suffering a stroke in February. She told Sarah Wire she needed to get back to work because she was too “antsy” to stay home.

— Activists hopeful the Supreme Court will allow President Obama’s executive actions granting deferred action for undocumented immigrants gathered outside the court Monday. It appears the court is headed for a 4-4 split decision. Gov. Jerry Brown issued his own statement Monday urging the justices to allow the Obama plan to take effect.

LOGISTICS

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