Vote Centers will open one final time Tuesday morning, welcoming voters to cast ballots in time to be counted for the 2022 midterm elections. This is your last chance to weigh in on city council, rent control, property transfer tax, LA County Sheriff, LA County Supervisor and dozens of other races.
The traditional second-Tuesday-in-November Election Day has been replaced with several options to vote in LA County elections, including universal Vote By Mail (with free postage plus numerous secure drop-boxes), up to 11 days of early voting and Vote Centers.
An estimated 17.3% of registered voters countywide had already cast their ballots by the end of the day on Sunday, Nov. 6, after nine days of early voting and with two days remaining to vote. That includes 72,074 ballots cast in person at Vote Centers and another 905,283 ballots collected through vote by mail.
The vote turnout as of Sunday evening was just a fraction of the turnout at this point during the 2020 general election; by the time polls closed on the ninth day of early voting in 2020, a whopping 2.5 million Vote By Mail ballots had been submitted in LA County, with nearly 400,000 in-person votes cast, according to the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk’s Office. In the end, more than three out of every four registered voters in LA County cast ballots for the November 2020 election.
Santa Monicans generally show up to vote at higher rates than the rest of the County. This proved true in the June primaries earlier this year, when 36.4% of registered Santa Monica voters exercised their right to vote, compared to just 28.5% of voters countywide. Local voter turnout data for Santa Monica was not yet available.
The City Clerk’s Office did report some complaints had come in during the early voting period, but did not provide details by Daily Press deadline on Monday.
“We’ve received complaints but mostly about political signs in public property, mailers with the City Seal, and electioneering by Vote Centers,” an administrator with the City Clerk’s office wrote in an email.
Representatives for the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk’s Office did not respond to requests for data or questions about complaints and allegations in Santa Monica by the time the Daily Press went to print on Monday.
If you are registered to vote but have not yet done so, Vote Centers are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday at:
Saint Anne Church and Shrine, Fellowship Hall, 2011 Colorado Avenue.
Grant Elementary School, Auditorium, 2368 Pearl Street.
Joslyn Park, Auditorium, 633 Kensington Road (street parking only).
Marine Park, Auditorium, 1406 Marine Street.
National Typewriter Company, 1666 Euclid Street (voter parking along Olympic, between Euclid-12th Court and street parking).
Professional Development Learning Center, Multi-Purpose Room, 2802 4th Street.
Roosevelt Elementary School, 801 Montana Avenue, Auditorium.
Santa Monica College, Clayton Center Building Faculty Lounge, 1900 Pico Boulevard
Virginia Avenue Park, Thelma Terry Building, Workshop 3, 2200 Virginia Avenue.
If you are eligible to vote but have not yet registered, same-day voter registration is available at Vote Centers. Those ballots will be counted as soon as registration is verified.
In addition, Vote by Mail drop-boxes are open until 8 p.m. Tuesday at:
Main Library (Santa Monica/7th)
Montana Library (Montana, between 17th Street & 17th Place)
Marine Park (Marine/Margaret)
Virginia Avenue Park (Virginia Avenue parking lot)
More information on local elections is available at www.santamonica.gov/topic-explainers/elections.
emily@smdp.com
