With 526 new Vote Centers opening Saturday, Nov. 2 — bringing the total in Los Angeles County to 648 — area voters have an expanded opportunity to cast their ballots in person prior to Election Day on Tuesday.
L.A. County voters are welcome at any location, regardless of residence, where they can fill out a ballot in person, drop off a ballot already completed, or even show the QR code if they did their voting through Poll Pass.
Vote Centers will be open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. through Nov. 4, with Election Day hours of 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
While voters have been able to mail in their ballots since Oct. 7, many people prefer the in-person process for a variety of reasons.
Motivated by tradition, trust, ballot-trouble and an opportunity to save time, a steady stream of voters visited the Vote Center operated in the cafeteria at the L.A. Valley College in Van Nuys on Saturday.
“I moved and my ballot wasn’t going to come in time,” Dan Schepleng of Van Nuys explained. “I would have mailed it. I would have done that.”
“It’s the first time I ever early-voted,” he said. “I always went on Election Day because I like the whole thing, but now I just want to get it done.”
The excitement and allure of a live polling place drew several people. The patriotic atmosphere at this particular polling place was further elevated because there were numerous marching bands rehearsing throughout the morning on the campus, with music accompanying people’s walk to the voting location.
“What more can you ask for?” declared Larry Nevonen of Van Nuys, who always prefers the in-person experience.
“I like to see it, to know that my ballot is accurate and I’m satisfied with it,” he said.
Stacy Katz of Sherman Oaks also appreciates the hands-on experience.
“I like doing it better in person," she said. "I always like being part of it. I feel like I voted when I put it in the box,” Gayle Liker of Woodland Hills, who came to vote with her partner, Gil Bernardy of Sherman Oaks, agreed.
“It just feels more proactive, more American,” she said, citing the community of the polling place and enjoying the opportunity to come with Bernardy, with whom she’s researched various ballot issues.
“I love that we’re doing it together,” she said.
“I feel better about the physical process of voting instead of mailing it in,” Bernardy said. “I guess I’m a little old school in that respect. But I am voting early instead of mailing it in, which is a great thing.”
“In a country of about 400 million voters, to expect us all to cast our ballots on the same day is ridiculous,” he said.
Liker noted that in her native Missouri the polls had just opened for early voting.
“I’m glad that we live in California, so we have more options,” she said.
Others have been influenced by news and social media stories they’ve heard that tell of ballots being destroyed or tampered with.
Surachet Jing Jit, election worker, welcomes visitors in Van Nuys. (Photo by Jarret Liotta)
“I had it all ready to mail (but) I read the news a lot and they’re burning them in ballot boxes,” Marianne Brown of Sherman Oaks said, expressing her fears about illegal voting as well.
“I just think it’s very critical and a very sacred right,” she said.
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Still others see the annual ritual of voting as something to be shared with children and families.
“He helped me,” Jessica McGlothlin of Valley Glen said of her son, Augustus, 12, who came to vote with her. “We researched all of the ballot measures together.”
Augustus was excited to be there and see the process in action.
“I thought the machines were really cool,” he said, “and I thought it was nice to see everything.”
For Ashley Cohen of Encino, voting is often a family affair, with her children, Scarlett, 8, and Ellie, 4, joining her this year, along with her husband and sister-in-law.
“I wanted to show my children the voting process,” she said, though she invariably votes with her husband and other relatives together.
Like others, she also prefers to confirm that her ballot is safe, though she said the ballot boxes are probably trustworthy.
“I don’t want to say it isn’t secure,” she said. “That isn’t fair to say, (but) I felt more confident doing it myself, rather than leaving it in a box that isn’t watched by human eyes.”
Jarret Liotta is a Los Angeles-area-based freelance writer and photographer.
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