One year ago, Congress defunded public media. Now that we're 100% community funded, please become a sustaining member or increase your existing membership today.
What It’s Like To Vote On LA County’s New ‘Ballot-Marking Devices’
Some sections have more than one page of choices. Those choices can be seen by pressing the more button. (Chava Sanchez/ LAist)
Let’s take a moment to remember a dearly departed institution in L.A. County: those old InkaVote devices. Rest in power, you odd invention of the 1960s.
This election, L.A. County is using new voting machines. They’re called “ballot-marking devices.” Each of the new voter booths features an iPad-esque touchscreen interface and a printer.
The booths are the linchpin of L.A. County’s new voting system: even though I voted this week in Boyle Heights, the screen still showed me all the races from my home precinct across town.
How does the system work? What’s it like to vote in L.A. in 2020? I took my recording gear as I cast my ballot and filed this story to help you know what to expect when you, too, cast a ballot in the March 3 primary.
And watch this space for a video about L.A. County’s new voting experience coming soon.
GO DEEPER:
One year ago, Congress voted to defund public media, eliminating a critical $1.7 million from our budget every year going forward. But they couldn’t silence us, and we’re not going anywhere. LAist is now 100% community funded and that means we’re taking our future into our own hands and turning to you to keep local reporting strong.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief
