With the constant advertising and social media fighting going on around the 2024 election cycle, everything can feel too big for some people. Even something as simple as casting your ballot can feel like a tall task through all the noise, leading to a local initiative to empower voters to take action on the individual level.
Attendees were able to vote and receive same-day ballot assistance in person, with the event also featuring educational resources to help locals navigate the voting process.
The event is part of the clinic’s "Vote for Your Health" initiative, with ongoing voter registration events at several clinic locations, such as Tuesday’s event at the Chuck Lorre Rose Avenue Health & Wellness Center.
A nonprofit community health center serving 45,000 residents across Los Angeles County, the clinic stated that the campaign is aimed at educating and mobilizing community members to vote with "their health in mind," stating that voting at higher rates can improve health outcomes.
"We are deeply committed to our patients’ well-being, and we believe that voting is a powerful tool for influencing the policies that impact health," Venice Family Clinic CEO Dr. Mitesh Popat said. "That’s why we want to empower every member of our community with the resources and education to cast an informed vote - both for their own health, and the wellbeing of their neighbors."
With voting registration and ballot casting handled by Los Angeles County representatives, the clinic staff focuses on getting awareness out about the resources, particularly for the unhoused population. Clinic Community Outreach Coordinator Damian Diaz said that the people "who feel that they can’t" vote are the ones who may want to take part the most.
"It’s just having the right people that want to vote, building an opportunity for them to be able to do so, without them feeling marginalized and judged regardless of who they are, where they’re from," Diaz added.
Supporting that notion were 30 Samohi students who helped out during the day, a mix of seniors in an American Government course and juniors in a US History course. The partnership is part of the sixth year of the clinic’s Project-Based Learning Pathway program, engaging students in interactive experiences focused on civic engagement.
The Samohi "Get Out the Vote" project has been around the community this month assisting people in registration, as well as where and when they can vote in person or drop a ballot. The civic advocates are non-partisan, attempting to clear up any misunderstandings in the voting process.
"We’re trying to reach people how to register to vote and how to get out the vote, so we’re giving people resources on just how easy it is to vote and why it’s so important that they actually do end up voting," Samohi senior Felicity Stone said.
The group began by making t-shirts and posters for election season, followed by learning about the propositions and measures on the state and local levels. They then spoke to residents about their voting plans, with some of the chats surprising Stone.
"A lot of people weren’t sure where they could vote," she said. "They knew they were registered to vote, but they didn’t have a plan on what they were going to do to vote … there were some people that also didn’t know that everybody in California received a mail-in ballot, and so that it was incredibly easy to just mail a [ballot] and that it only took 15 minutes."
While Stone noted that voting was at a healthy level in the November 2020 election, it’s still important to participate in the process every time out, with fellow senior Sage Lima stating some of her peers want to boycott the election due to being "misinformed" or not agreeing with current voting systems.
"Obviously, we need more people … to actually get out and vote, because it’s very important," Stone said. "Our whole country is based on democracy and the people voting, so without voting, that’s taking away your own power."
Diaz stated that the Samohi participation was "refreshing" and gave him "some hope in" Gen Z, with Santa Monica Bay Area Human Relations Council’s Anya Baroff sharing the sentiment while she worked alongside the students.
"They’ve been nothing but amazing, socially informed, empowered," Baroff said. "Seeing people who aren’t even [at] voting age yet really taking the initiative to empower themselves and others has been nothing but inspiring."
The Venice Family Clinic will be holding another mobile voting center on Thursday at the Simms/Mann Health & Wellness Center at 2509 Pico Blvd. in Santa Monica. For more information about the "Vote for Your Health" initiative, visit venicefamilyclinic.org/voteforyourhealth/.
thomas@smdp.com
