Los Angeles County voters will have a say in where their voices are heard at the polls when the 2020 election rolls around, county officials said Friday.
Senate Bill 450 was signed into law by Gov. Jerry Brown in 2016, and temporarily establishes voting centers across the county. The new law was set up to making voting “to afford maximally convenient options for voters and are established at accessible locations as near as possible to established public transportation routes,” according to a section of the law.
The law also wants to be sure that all voting centers are easily accessible to individuals with disabilities.
“We’re doing analysis on the most convenient vote centers,” said Brenda Duran, spokeswoman for the L.A. County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk’s Office.
For 11 days, including Election Day, voters will be able to cast their vote either digitally or through a new voting system at the centers.
“Cast your ballot near your home, work or favorite park,” was the message in a video from the county available online.
Beginning in the spring, voters can access an interactive map to choose their preferred vote center locations on the Vote Center Placement Project’s website.
The experience is a bit different than a traditional trip to the polls.
Before submitting their ballots, voters can use an interactive sample ballot on their phone. Then they can scan a QR code from their phone onto the “ballot marking device,” which is the new “virtual voting booth,” at the voting centers. Voters will then receive a printed ballot that they can submit to their digital voting booth, which can accept their ballot.
When voters go to a ballot marking device, which will include a touch screen, headphones to hear the ballot options and a tactile keypad, they will be able to change the language and adjust the font size.
The project is also looking to educate voters about their new voting options.
For more information on in-person meetings about vote center possibilities or to choose a voting center online, go to vsap.lavote.net.
