Mock voting at Villa Park in Pasadena (Photos – lavote.net, cityofpasadena.net)
This weekend, the Los Angeles County Register-Recorder is offering LA County residents a chance to try its new voting systems, which will be officially implemented starting March 2020.
By Melissa Michelson
Mock elections will take place in 50 locations across the LA county Sep. 28-29 from 10am to 4pm. (Click to find out locations). In an effort to educate the public about the changes to voting coming next year to LA County, the public is invited to experience the new touch-screen ballot marking devices and cast practice ballots for their favorite sports team or music venue. There will also be food trucks, prize giveaways and DJs.
Changes to LA County voting
Here are some of the changes to LA County voting that you can expect starting next year:
- Voting-Anywhere Centers are replacing your traditional polling locations. That means you won’t need to rush home during the day or wake up early to go vote near the address where you are registered. Instead, you can vote in any of the 1000 voting centers throughout LA County, but you’ll need to research where they will be. Voting centers locations are soon to be finalized.
- Voting Centers will be open for a total of 11 days. You can cast your vote early on any of the 10 days leading up to the March 3 primary, or on Super Tuesday itself.
- When they arrive, voters will check in with vote center staff who will refer to a county-wide electronic roster, (called “ePollbook”) rather than to the traditional printed list of voters in that particular precinct. The electronic roster can determine if a voter has already voted and allows Vote by Mail voters to vote at the voting center without needing to bring in the ballot that had been mailed out to them.
- Voters will use non-networked touch-screens (called “Ballot Marking Devices”) to access their ballot, in any of 13 languages, before marking and depositing the printed ballot. According to the LA County Registrar’s Office, “The voter information on the ePollbooks is not connected to the Ballot Marking Device or the tally system. They remain independent from one another to protect a voter’s personal information. Printed ballots do not contain any voter information.”
- If you wish to hand-mark a paper ballot or if you will be out of town between February 22 and March 3, 2020 and cannot go to an voting center in LA County, you can request an absentee ballot, signing up for to vote by mail for that election, or permanently. You will then mail in your ballot (no stamp needed) on or before March 3. (Pay special attention to deadlines and sign up to Vote by Mail).
- If you don’t get the ballot with the candidates you wish to vote for, it may be because you are registered in a different political party than those candidates. During primaries, voters vote for candidates within their chosen political party. Should you wish to change parties, you will be able to do so on site and get the ballot for that party.
- Voters will be able to preview and prepare their sample ballot (called “Interactive Sample Ballot”) at home, on a personal device, then go to a voting center and upload the QR code into the Ballot Marking Device, saving you time and from re-entering your choices.
Villa Parke Community Center
The closest mock voting center in the San Gabriel Valley this weekend is in Pasadena. (Villa Parke Community Center Auditorium, 363 E. Villa St., Pasadena, CA 91101). Take advantage of familiarizing yourself with the new system and have any of your questions answered.
Date/Time 09/28/2019 and 09/29/2019 10:00 am - 4:00 pm Location Villa Parke Community Center Auditorium
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