A new statewide survey is breaking down the top issues for California voters just weeks out from the November midterm elections.According to the Public Policy Institute of California September 2022 survey, nearly three out of 10 Californians who responded said jobs, the economy and inflation was the most important issue facing the state today. The survey, which was fielded from Sept. 2-11 and included 1,705 adults, showed that an overwhelming majority of Californians said rising prices are causing financial hardship for their households. The data broke this down by saying out of all surveyed adults, 38% said they were facing “serious hardship,” 33% said they were facing “not serious hardship,” and 29% said they were facing “no hardship.”Mindy Romero, director of the Center for Inclusive Democracy, said while it is not necessarily surprising that the top issue for voters is the economy, what is interesting to note in this latest survey is how many voters are putting an extra emphasis on it."I think in this election cycle, it's even more of a question because of the hardship that really an overwhelming majority of the poll itself says of Californians that are experiencing hardship,” Romero said.These are the top five issues for California voters, according to the PPIC survey:Jobs/economy/inflation: 29%Homelessness: 14%Housing costs/availability: 11%Environment/climate change: 8%Water/drought: 8%"Candidates need to be talking about those issues, period. If they're not, then they're absolutely missing, obviously, key concerns that voters have,” Romero said.The big question now is if candidates hone in on those issues, will it drive more people to go to the polls? Romero said it depends on how much someone will be able to accomplish if they are elected."Voters need to feel like candidates can actually make a difference,” Romero said.Here are other key findings from the PPIC September 2022 survey:Among likely California voters, 58% would vote for Gavin Newsom and 31% would vote for Brian Dahle if the election were held today.When likely voters are read the ballot title and labels, 69% would vote yes on Proposition 1 (constitutional abortion rights), 55% would vote yes on Proposition 30 (reducing greenhouse gases), and 34% would vote yest on Proposition 27 (online sports gambling).6 in 10 likely voters would support the Democratic candidate in the U.S. House race if the election were today.At the local level, 68% of Californians say homelessness is a big problem in their part of the state, and 61% say the presence of the homeless has increased in their local community in the past year.Majorities of California adults and likely voters approve of Governor Gavin Newsom, President Joe Biden and their U.S. House Representatives.Addressing voter registration and turnoutWith just about six weeks until the election, voter registration is top of mind for county registrars of voters across the state. The number of registered voters in Sacramento County right now is around 863,000, according to Sacramento County Voter Registration and Elections spokesperson Janna Haynes. Haynes said there were around 864,000 registered voters in Sacramento County during the June primary, so officials are working to re-register voters who unregistered since that time.“It’s a trend. It’s been going on for years, particularly with the prevalence of online voter registration and being able to manage your voter file yourself,” Haynes said.In order to get voter registration numbers up, Haynes said the county has been out at community events and continuing its voter education efforts. It is also trying specifically to get younger voters engaged in the process by working with high schools to make sure students turning 18 years old before the election are prepared. For both voter registration and turnout, Haynes said the county is emphasizing the importance of this election."Just because we're not voting for president this year, there are a ton of local elected officials on the ballot. There are a lot of measures that affect peoples' daily lives,” Haynes said.Sacramento County voter guides have been mailed out to registered voters. Haynes said this year’s guides are the largest they have ever been.