Serving Larchmont Village, Hancock Park, and the Greater Wilshire neighborhoods of Los Angeles since 2011.

New Voting System Will Move from Precinct Polling Locations to Regional Vote Centers

When you voted at your neighborhood precinct polling place in November, it was probably one of the last few times you’ll be voting that way.  Starting in 2020, Los Angeles County will move from traditional precinct-based voting to a new system of “regional vote centers.”

The goal is to increase overall voter opportunities and participation. So while there will be fewer polling places than in the past, and you may have to travel a bit further from home to vote…you will also be able to vote at any vote center (not just a single location near your home), and the centers will be open for 11 days, not just on the official single election day.  Also, there will be same-day voter registration at all locations, and there will be new voting technology as well.

According to the VCPP website:

“The concept system features touch-screen technology with a simple user interface, both audio and visual output and a built-in scanner, printer and ballot box. The new voting system will provide voters with options to scan in QR coded ballots from their phone, enter their ballot choices in-person at the polling location or vote-by-mail with printed ballots.”

Or, more visually:

Currently, the county is working on a big Vote Center Placement Project, to determine where the new voting centers should be located. As part of that effort, it’s holding a long series of community meetings covering every neighborhood in LA County, to seek stakeholder input.

According to the VCPP, the location effort’s goals are to:

  • Ensure vote center locations are accessible and convenient to voters
  • Gather and consider community input in vote center location selection
  • Educate the public about the new voter experience
  • Ensure the vote center implementation plan meets regulatory requirements
  • Allow same day registration at all vote centers.
  • Provide at least one vote center for every 30,000 registered voters 10 days before the election (minimum 8 hours/day)
  • Provide at least one vote center for every 7,500 registered voters on election day and the three days prior (7 am – 8 pm)
  • Provide at least one vote center for every city with at least 1,000 registered voters

Other factors include:

  • Proximity to geographically isolated populations
  • Proximity to low income communities
  • Proximity to voters with disabilities
  • Proximity to language minority communities
  • Proximity to public transportation
  • Proximity to population centers
  • Traffic patterns near vote centers and ballot drop box locations
  • Distance and time voter must travel by car or public transit to vote center

Several meetings for our local neighborhoods will be held over the next month or so, and in addition to provding stakeholder input on locations, the sessions should provide a great opportunity for residents to learn more about the voting centers and how they’ll work.  The upcoming community meetings of greatest local interest to our Buzz community include:

Monday, December 10
5:00pm-7:00pm
South Baylo University
2727 West 6th Street
Los Angeles, CA 90057
Target communities:  Adams-Normandie, Angelino Heights, Chinatown, City Central, County Club Park, Downtown, East Hollywood, Echo Park, Elysian Park, Hancock Park, Harvard Heights, Historic Filipinotown, Hollywood, Hollywood Hills, Jefferson Park, Koreatown, Little Bangladesh, Little Tokyo, Los Feliz, Melrose, Pico-Union, Silverlake, Temple-Beaudry, Thai Town, University Park, Victoria Park, Westlake, Wilshire Center

Friday, January 11
1:30pm-3:30pm
United Cerebral Palsy of Los Angeles
6110 Washington Boulevard
Culver City, CA 90232
Target communities: Beverly Hills, Culver City, West Hollywood, Franklin Canyon, Alsace, Baldwin Hills, Beverly Crest, Beverlywood, Brookside, Cadillac-Coming, Carthay, Century City, Cheviot Hills, Cloverdale, Cochran, Country Club Park, Crenshaw District, Crestview, Exposition, Faircrest Heights, Hollywood, Hollywood Hills, Lafayette Square, Longwood, Miracle Mile, Melrose, Park La Brea, South Carthay, Sycamore Square, Regent Square, Reynier Village, St. Elmo Village, Victoria Park, Wellington Square

Saturday, January
12, 2019
10:00am-12:00pm
The Music Center’s Dorothy
Chandler Pavilion
Stern Grand Hall (2nd Floor)
135 North Grand Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90012
Target communities: Adams-Normandie, Angelino Heights, Chinatown, City Central, County Club Park, Downtown, East Hollywood, Echo Park, Elysian Park, Hancock Park, Harvard Heights, Historic Filipinotown, Hollywood, Hollywood Hills, Jefferson Park, Koreatown, Little Bangladesh, Little Tokyo, Los Feliz, Melrose, Pico-Union, Silverlake, Temple-Beaudry, Thai Town, University Park, Victoria Park, Westlake, Wholesale District, Wilshire Center

Saturday, January
12, 2019
1:30pm-3:30pm
Beverly Hills Public Library
Auditorium
444 North Rexford Drive
Beverly Hills, CA 90210
Target communities: Beverly Hills, Culver City, West Hollywood, Franklin Canyon, Alsace, Baldwin Hills, Beverly Crest, Beverlywood, Brookside, Cadillac-Coming, Carthay, Century City, Cheviot Hills, Cloverdale, Cochran, Country Club Park, Crenshaw District, Crestview, Exposition, Faircrest Heights, Hollywood, Hollywood Hills, Lafayette Square, Longwood, Miracle Mile, Melrose, Park La Brea, South Carthay, Sycamore Square, Regent Square, Reynier Village, St. Elmo Village, Victoria Park, Wellington Square

For the full list of meetings, dates and times, see https://www.lavote.net/docs/rrcc/documents/VCPP-Grassroots-Community-Meetings-Study-Area.pdf

You can also find an Interactive map of all the meeting locations at http://lacounty.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=e16288a1f60c421c9e6206cd87d3f82e

And, finally,  for those who can’t make it to one of the community meetings, you can also suggest vote center locations online.

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Elizabeth Fuller
Elizabeth Fuller
Elizabeth Fuller was born and raised in Minneapolis, MN but has lived in LA since 1991 - with deep roots in both the Sycamore Square and West Adams Heights-Sugar Hill neighborhoods. She spent 10 years with the Greater Wilshire Neighborhood Council, volunteers at Wilshire Crest Elementary School, and has been writing for the Buzz since 2015.
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