Updates — in 8 p.m.
Voter centers in Los Angeles County have closed — for the most part.
While the polls closed at 8 p.m., anyway in line to vote at that time — and some reports showed that was the case in at least a few places — will still be allowed to do so.
The LA County registrar’s office was scheduled to release the initial returns, composed entirely of vote-by-mail ballots that arrived before Election Day, between 8 and 8:30 p.m. Tuesday. It’s unclear whether that will remain true if multiple vote centers still have people waiting in line.
Update — 5:30 p.m.
From SCNG reporter Christina Merino in the field:
Tiffany Robertson, 44, Long Beach resident and Cal State Long Beach alum, and her husband — along with their two elementary-school children — dropped their ballots off at CSULB and talked about how it’s become a family tradition.
“We bring the kids every year,” Robertson said. “We go over the measures with each other, then with our kids.”
“While California is a very blue state,” she said, “it’s important to vote locally because there are things that affect all of us. We absolutely need to vote local because it affects us not only as tax payers but it affects them at school too and in everything.”
‘It’s very sentimental,” Robertson said about voting, adding that she gets excited to teach her kids about the importance of voting.
Lendl Punzalan, 33, Long Beach resident and a CSULB alum, said some of the issues that he thought were important included protecting reproductive rights and also the middle-class infrastructure bill.
After voting, he said, “I feel great.”
“I don’t want to be represented by someone who I don’t want to represent me,” he said, it’s “as easy as that.”
Mia Verayl, 18, voting for the first time, said she waited an hour and 30 minutes to go in and vote.
“It’s my first time voting, so I’m very happy to participate and be civically engaged,” the CSULB student said.
Update — 4:30 p.m.
More from SCNG reporter Christina Merino in the field:
In the early afternoon, the voting center at the Walter Pyramid on the Cal State Long Beach campus was a popular spot for not only students but also local residents and alumni who still live in the area. Standing in line for the polls were both young college students and older nearby residents.
The wait was about an hour and 30 minutes for some. At one point, the line wrapped halfway around the pyramid.
“There was a really long line,” said Kelly Allen, a Long Beach resident who lives near the university. “I waited about an hour and 15 minutes in line.”
She said she wished there was more time and information to learn about the local measures, adding that voting was important.
“It’s really important,” Allen said about going out to vote. “Number one thing to do.”
Melissa Balvastro, 26, of Long Beach was dropping off her ballot at the university.
“I like voting on Election Day,” she said. “It makes it feel more ceremonial.
“Election season was crazy,” Balvastro added. “But I’m still hopeful about the outcome.”
Balvastro, who lives near the university, said that voting locally is important.
“I feel like that’s the most important,” she said, “because it’s what directly affects you the most.”
Update — 3:20 p.m.
From SCNG reporter Michael Hixon in the field:
At around 2 p.m. on Election Day, the line to vote at the Hermosa Beach Community Center was more than an hour long.
Hermosa Beach voter Sharon Fredrickson was surprised at the wait.
When Hermosa Beach residents voted in 2015 on the hotly contested Measure O, which would have allowed E&B Natural Resources Management Corp. to install more than 30 oil and gas wells in the city, she said, the wait was about five minutes to vote. Measure O was shot down with about 80% of the vote against.
“This is incredible,” Fredrickson said. “I’ve been watching the news all day and seeing the turnout, not just of voters, but especially young voters, is just so heartwarming.”
Fredrickson said she is a “little more prideful today” to vote.
“I hope to be on the side of history that reflects not just our first woman president, ” Fredrickson said, “but our first Black, female, Indian president.”
Hermosa Beach resident Jeff Capri said, “I actually like being part of it on the day.”
“I like the feeling, the energy, I physically like going into the booth,” Capri said. “It feels a little more American.”
Michael Leong, also of Hermosa Beach, said he felt it was “part of our civic duty as Americans to exercise our right to vote.”
“I think, especially, specifically this election is very polarizing in terms of who to vote for,” Leong said. “It’s going to be a very close race, so that’s why it’s important.”
Hermosa Beach’s Mallory Blais said agreed with Leong.
“I think it’s good to exercise your right to vote,” Blais said, “and put what you believe out there.”
Update — 2:30 p.m.
How are you all holding up?
If you’re like many Americans, this has been a stressful ride through the 2024 presidential election.
And while it’s almost over, the stress may linger, especially if your pick loses.
Psychologist Golee Abrishami, PhD and Head of Clinical Care at Octave, is overseeing some “street” teams today, including visits at UCLA, to be available for voters who might be dealing with anxiety at the end of a very intense national election cycle.
“We’ve been aware that elections bring heightened stress and anxiety for a lot of people,” Abrishami said in a telephone interview. “The stakes can be very high and we wanted to acknowledge that some people are feeling overwhelmed.”
Based on feedback from her teams, Abrishami said the outreach has been going well.
“Undoubtedly this has been one of the more contentious or divisive or polarized elections, not just over the presidential candidates but some really important issues across different states,” she said.
The unknown results — especially if it will be a while for a final count — can cause even more anxiety, she said.
Knowing a final result, she added, helps us acknowledge and “arrive at a collective decision” about what the country is thinking and has decided. “I think that’s a time to hopefully have some acceptance.”
Her tips for personal anxiety relief: “Be mindful about conversations we’re having and stay out of those conversations you may disagree with — don’t bother with an unrealistic goal of trying to persuade people.”
Focus on things you can control, she said. “There’s a lot that people can do and that’s good news,” Abrishami said. “I think one really important piece is focusing on breathing and managing out breath as a way to manage tension. If we breathe too rapidly and our breath is too shallow, that can induce a panic in us. Be mindful to slow down.”
Also choose to step away: “It’s OK to take a break. Stop scrolling, stop reading relentlessly. Make a plan for yourself.”
Update — 1:50 p.m.
The most recent turnout numbers from the Los Angeles County registrar’s office: 644,900 have voted at the county’s many vote centers; and more than 1.7 million had voted by mail as of about 1:30 p.m.
Update — 12:45 p.m.
A long line of voters formed just before noon at a vote center in Sorensen Park in Whittier.
A volunteer told SCNG that she was seeing “more first-time voters” this year — and if someone announced they were voting for the first time, a cheer went up from the volunteers.
Update — 11:00 a.m.
The vote was underway throughout Los Angeles County, including among patients at Long Beach Medical Center. Patients filled out a request form to participate.
On Monday and Tuesday, the hospital offered hospitalized patients an opportunity to participate through ballots for those not able to visit the polls or submit a ballot by mail.
“We believe that a positive patient experience includes supporting our patients’ rights and autonomy,” said Robert Gonzales, director of Patient Relations for Memorial Care Long Beach Medical Center.
“This is so wonderful the hospital is able to do this for us,” said Joan Gustafson, a patient who voted from her hospital bed. “I’m so happy to be able to vote, even while I’m here.”
“Voting is a fundamental right,” said Gonzales, “and we believe that every patient should have the opportunity to participate in our democracy, regardless of their health situation.”
Hospital staff through the Patient Relations team, Interpreter Service team, and nursing department worked to coordinate the efforts before hand to ensure eligible patients received their ballots and the needed support.
Update — 10:15 a.m.
Vote centers were off and running as of 9:30 a.m. today, according to Mike Sanchez, spokesperson for the Los Angeles County registrar’s office.
In person totals, as of 9:30 a.m., were 516,200, with more than 1.6 million mail-in ballots returned, Sanchez said.
“There is a lot of foot traffic but we’re not aware of any significant lines,” he said, adding that the largest surge tends to come late in the day when people get off work.
To check for potential lines and wait times, go to locator.lavote.gov on the registrar’s website. If there’s a line at your vote center, Sanchez said, there could be one close by with a shorter or no line.
Will there be a turnout record set today?
“That’s a crystal ball exercise,” Sanchez said. “We still have a full day in front of us and we still have mail-in ballots that could be dropped off today. So it’s really too early to tell.”
In what has been one of the more stressful election cycles the nation has seen, there are street mental health-counseling teams being sent out today by Octave, a therapy practice with a curated network of therapists in seven states.
Locations include UCLA vote centers and Santa Monica College’s Main Campus, all beginning at 11 a.m. and running throughout the rest of the day.
Original post
Election Day has arrived — so get out there and vote.
Unless, that is, you’ve already used one of the myriad other ways to cast your ballot ahead of time.
Los Angeles County’s vote centers opened at 7 a.m. today — Election Day — and they won’t close until 8 p.m.
The 2024 presidential election, between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump, has understandably grabbed the biggest headlines nationwide, considering all the fraught and controversial twists that race has endured this year.
But there’s plenty more on your ballots, from the U.S. Senate race between Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Burbank, and his Republican challenger, Steve Garvey; to local races for city council and school board.
Every registered voter should have received a mail-in ballot by now. So if you’re the in-person kind of voter, you can still see what’s on your ballot ahead of time.
Below is everything you need to know if you haven’t yet cast your ballot. But for more information, you can check out our website and online voter guide.
Where and when to vote
If you haven’t voted yet, now is the time.
The deadline to cast your ballot at a vote center is 8 p.m. today.
There are nearly 600 vote centers open across Los Angeles County today, from Long Beach to Pasadena, and voters can cast ballots at any of them — so if it’s more convenient to vote on your lunch break, you can do so. You can also drop off your vote-by-mail ballots at any vote center or the Los Angeles County registrar’s office.
Just make sure you do so by 8 p.m.
You can also place your mail-in ballots in any of the hundreds of drop boxes scattered around the county. Those drop boxes, like vote ceenters, will close at 8 p.m.
To find a vote center or drop box near you, go to lavote.gov.
If for some reason, you can’t get to a vote center or drop box, don’t fret — there’s one more option for you: You can still vote by mail.
That’s right, just drop your mail-in ballot into a mailbox or swing by your local post office. There’s just one caveat: those ballots must be postmarked by Election Day, so this is still your last chance to cast your ballot.
Now, ballots must arrive at the registrar’s office within seven days of the election. But that shouldn’t be a problem: The United States Postal Service prioritizes election-related mail during election season.
By the way, did you know you can track your ballot? That’s right, just go to california.ballottrax.net/voter and subscribe to “Where’s My Ballot”?
What if I’m not registered?
If you only became interested in voting within the last couple of days — or aren’t sure if you’re registered — that’s not a problem.
While the deadline to register before Election Day has passed, the registrar’s office offers same-day registration at vote centers. Just go to the most-convenient vote center, and tell them you’d like to register and vote.
Now, these ballots are not entirely the same as those who are already registered. Any registered voter who cast a ballot at a vote center today, will have their votes counted later than night, after polls close. But if you do same-day registration, you’ll vote conditionally — meaning the registrar must confirm you’re eligible to vote.
That’s not too big of a deal, though. All that means is your ballot will be counted during the official canvas period, rather than on election night. But trust us, it will be counted — every eligible ballot will be.
What happens on election night?
So, once the polls close at 8 p.m., that’s when the real fun starts — or, depending on your perspective, the anxiety.
The results of the election will be updated on the registrar’s website. The first batch of results will come around 8:30 p.m. and will include only vote-by-mail ballots received by Election Day. The next round, which will follow shortly after the first, will include ballots cast at vote centers before Election Day.
After that, the registrar will provide continual updates throughout the night until all ballots cast at vote centers on Election Day — not counting conditional ones — are counted. After that, the results will become semi-official.
But that, as the name suggests, does not mean the results are final.
What follows will be the official canvas, during which the registrar’s office will count all outstanding ballots. The canvas must be completed within 30 days.
The registrar’s office is tentatively scheduled to certify the election on Dec. 3.
For more information, go to lavote.gov.
