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Attention, Pomona And Hawthorne: Something's Missing On Your Mail-In Ballots
A Santa Barbara city firefighter battles flames from the Cave Fire near a home off Cieneguitas Road in Santa Barbara on Monday, Nov. 25, 2019. (Courtesy Mike Eliason, Santa Barbara County Fire Department )
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California’s March 3 primary is just under a month away, and vote-by-mail ballots were sent out this week. But there's been a hiccup for voters in a couple of Los Angeles County cities.
If you live in Hawthorne or Pomona, there’s something missing on that absentee ballot in your mailbox.
The L.A. County Registrar says a measure was left off vote-by-mail ballots sent to folks in these two cities. It’s Measure FD, aimed at boosting resources for the county’s 911 system and Fire Department.
Supporters say the parcel tax of 6 cents per square foot on buildings is needed to help L.A. County Fire deal with increasingly destructive wildfires and emergency medical calls. It would raise an estimated $134 million for hiring firefighters and upgrading equipment.
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Like all new parcel taxes, Measure FD needs the approval of two-thirds of voters to pass.
The Registrar is sending a supplemental ballot to voters in Hawthorne and Pomona with the missing question.
“We regret the omission,” Registrar Dean Logan said in a press release. “We identified the error and are acting quickly to ensure affected voters receive materials with sufficient time to mark and return both the original and supplemental ballots.”
Those supplementals should arrive a couple days after the first vote-by-mail ballots hit mailboxes.
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