Ready, set, vote: What you need to know about elections this year

A woman prepares to vote at Mountainview Elementary School in the 2018 election. Dan Watson/The Signal
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If someone is eligible to vote in Los Angeles County, they can find their district or find their polling place on lavote.net; voters can go under the “Voting and Elections” tab.

There’s also a number of ways to get information about the upcoming Nov. 6 election.

 

Propositions/Accompanying Legislation

This year, information on all 11 ballot propositions will be available in the sample ballot booklets  the county is mailing out. Short summaries of what a “yes” or “no” vote would do are included in the booklets. If voters have not received their booklet yet, the county is still in the process of sending them out, Sanchez said. In the meantime, the online ballot booklet is available online at lavote.net.

For comprehensive explainers with perspectives from either side, voters can go to local news outlets, such as The Signal, to hear from their local elected officials or local groups in support or opposition.

Some of these propositions, such as Prop. 6, are based off legislation authored during the California legislative session. For example, Prop. 6 would overturn Senate Bill 1, which the California Legislature passed as a 12-cent-per-gallon gas tax last year, but to make an informed choice, constituents must know what SB 1 even consists of.

They can research such measures by going to the website leginfo.com, where they can look up a corresponding Senate or Assembly bill number. Also accessible is the voting record for the bill; local elected Assembly members’ and Senate members’ votes are all public. The bill’s introduction date, amendments and original text are also available.

The number for any accompanying legislation for the propositions will be found in the sample ballots.

“Generally we like to tell everyone to be informed, and read the sample ballots you can access online,” Sanchez said.

 

Candidate Info

The ballots also have statements from the candidates, Sanchez said, and are a good starting point for finding out what each candidate’s mission statement is.

Beyond that, constituents can find out information about their candidates from their websites, social media updates and canvassing volunteers, campaign managers and communications directors said.

Christy Smith, candidate for the 38th Assembly District, stated the best way to find out her policy stances was to visit christysmithforassembly.com.

Smith said her campaign and its volunteers have been canvassing and phone banking daily throughout the 38th Assembly district. Interested voters can reach her on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram, email [email protected] or call her campaign office during business hours from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily.

Information about Assemblyman Dante Acosta, R-Santa Clarita, is also available on his campaign website, danteacosta.com.

Articles on the bills he has authored can be found at The Signal’s website, signalscv.com, and information is also available on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, representatives from his communications office said.

Campaign representatives for Katie Hill, candidate for the 25th Congressional District, said information on Hill’s policy platforms could be found at katiehillforcongress.com.

“There’s also a good chance we’re gonna knock on your door, as we’ve been getting out there and canvassing,” said Hill spokesman Zack Czajkowski.

Hill also plans to host three town halls in the Santa Clarita Valley, the Antelope Valley and Simi Valley respectively in late October, Czajkowski said.

Hill’s campaign updates are accessible through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and her three offices in each of the 25th Congressional District’s valleys, all available on the website.

The candidate also believes in utilizing video to reach out to voters, and soundbites on her views of issues such as health care, gun control and homelessness are available online. She also agreed to be the subject of an HBO Vice documentary series profiling her campaign, “She’s Running,” now available on YouTube.

Information on Hill’s opponent, incumbent Rep. Steve Knight, R-Palmdale, can be found on his official congressional website: knight.house.gov.

The congressman usually spends part of the week in Washington, D.C., and the other part touring the district at events talking to local constituents.

All of his bills, statements and votes are available as press releases and in a list on his website, representatives from his office said.

“We are always open to receiving input from constituents on any federal or local issue,” representatives from Knight’s office said in an emailed statement. “The primary way constituents can send a message to Congressman Knight is through our website at knight.house.gov using the contact form.”

Constituents also have the option of signing up for the congressman’s weekly newsletter, Knight Vision. They can also submit requests for tours of sites in Washington, D.C., and a veterans portal where veterans can go to get connected with agencies and services, the statement said.

Constituents can follow Knight on Facebook and Twitter or call his offices during business hours from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

 

Voting Registration Options

Lavote.com has information on the new vote-by-mail ballots, and weekend early voting for constituents to vote during the two weekends before election day.

Over the phone, constituents can also request a vote-by-mail ballot for any absentee voters, update their mailing address or ask any other questions, Sanchez said.

The registrar is also partnering with libraries across the county to have 150 vote-by-mail drop-off locations if voters want to submit their ballots to be placed in a secured ballot box. Locations and hours are all available on lavote.net, Sanchez said.

“We’ve already begun receiving ballots,” he said.

Requested vote-by-mail ballots went out on Oct. 9, and voters can request one such ballot until Oct. 30. The back page of the sample ballot booklet also offers a request form.

More than 5.1 million sample ballots were mailed out throughout the county at the end of September, and if constituents haven’t received them, Sanchez said it should be still coming.

“We ask that people be patient,” he said. “Some people are eager and asking about where their ballot is. The good news is we have resources on our website that anyone can utilize.

“We’ve seen a large increase in online registrations, and we encourage people to educate themselves as much as possible before the elections,” he said.

If constituents run into any issues registering or are confused about their precinct or polling place, they can call 1-800-815-2666, which directs the public to a reporting bank.

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