SuperCaliforniaisticexpialiTuesday is here; it’s finally here. Please don’t embarrass your country or family and fail to turn out. It seems hard to imagine turnout hasn’t been heavy already given the widespread availability of Vote Centers open now for weeks. It seems that everyone has received a postage-paid absentee ballot whether you asked for one or not. Click here to locate your new Vote Center regardless of past performance – don’t let it predict today’s. Come 8 p.m. tonight and it’s all over.
Just how embarrassing has been our recent turnout for LAUSD board elections? Pretty appalling. Approximately one in ten registered voters has deigned to vote since 2013 when really big-time money first suffused the LAUSD board races. That is, almost all our fellow citizens have let a tiny proportion elect the few who control a budget the size of the City of LA’s, and the weekday environment of our next generation citizens.
This really is no way to run a democracy. An informed and engaged electorate is the fuel which powers the republic; without it we have, well, what we have. Please be sure to contribute your 0.02 to the proceedings today. There’s still time….
L.A. County voting is a bit different than prior elections. The county has replaced traditional polling places with new Vote Centers that allow for early voting (open today until 8 p.m.) and even same day registration. There are also a handful of Vote Centers open all night. Find your nearest vote center at the L.A. County Registrar website. Vote at any Vote Center – including at Metro’s One Gateway Plaza headquarters behind Union Station and at El Monte bus station.
Voters do not need to vote at the nearest vote center to where you are registered. On electronic screens, make sure to hit “next” to see all the names in races with more than four candidates. Avoid the last minute crowds – vote early!
If you feel you are too far from your polling place to walk, bike, scoot there are a fair amount of free transit options. For election day, many mobility providers are offering free rides:
- All Metro buses and trains are free on March 3. When riding Metro rail, the turnstiles are set to allow riders to go through without requiring any tapping of a TAP card.
- Mero Bike Share is offering a free rides on Election Day – with no promotional code needed. Visit any bike station kiosk on March 3 to get a single free ride. The first 30 minutes are free and $1.75 per 30 minutes thereafter.
- Metro Access Services if offering free rides to vote centers.
- All LADOT Transit – DASH, Commuter Express, and Cityride – are offering free rides. LADOT’s LANow MicroTransit on-demand shuttle rides (serving Palms, Del Mar, Mar Vista and Venice) are free all day Tuesday.
- Additional Muni transit agencies offering free rides on Election Day: Antelope Valley Transit Authority (AVTA), Culver CityBus, Long Beach Transit, and Pasadena Transit,
Readers who are undecided might consider consulting various websites that do endorse candidates: Los Angeles Times, Daily News, Daily Breeze, Sentinel, Pasadena Star-News, L.A. County Republican Party, L.A. County Democratic Party, Stonewall Democratic Club, L.A. County Federation of Labor, East Area Progressive Democrats, Bike the Vote, and/or L.A. Podcast. Also find basic candidate position summaries at LAist and Curbed.