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LA County Not Keeping Polls Open After Sanders Lawsuit
Voters wait in line to cast ballots at USC. Natalie Chudnovsky
Bernie Sanders' 2020 campaign asked a federal court for an emergency order to keep Los Angeles County polls open an extra two hours because of unusually long wait times.
Despite the request, L.A. County Registrar Dean Logan said that they had decided not to extend poll hours in a Tuesday evening press conference. Logan apologized to voters who were still waiting in line.
"I think that to have extended the hours would have just extended the lines, perhaps, and really wouldn't have addressed the core issues," Logan said.
In a complaint filed just before polls were scheduled to close at 8 p.m., the Sanders campaign said voters at multiple locations had waited up to four hours to cast their votes. They said if a court doesn't intervene to force polls to stay open until 10 p.m., "County voters’ right to participate in our democracy will be immediately and irreparably harmed," the complaint reads.
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Sites mentioned in the complaint with long lines and other problems include:
- Logan Elementary School in Echo Park
- Evergreen Recreation Center on East 2nd Street
- Echo Park Recreation Center
- Mayberry Elementary
- Santa Monica Community College
- True Friendship Missionary Baptist Church
- Santa Monica Virginia Park
- Ackerman Union on 308 Westwood Plaza
- St Charles Borromeo Church
- Plummer Park Community Center
- Sherman Oaks East Valley Adult Center
- Crenshaw Mall
- Buena Vista Library in Burbank
- Elysian Masonic Lodge
- Yucca Community Center
- Cal State University North Ridge
- Westchester Senior Center
By law, polling places in California must allow people to vote who are in line by 8 p.m. The Sanders campaign wanted polling places to offer provisional ballots to any voters who arrived after 8 p.m.
READ THE COMPLAINT:
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But the game has changed: Congress voted to eliminate funding for public media across the country. Here at LAist that means a loss of $1.7 million in our budget every year. We want to assure you that despite growing threats to free press and free speech, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust. Speaking frankly, the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news in our community.
We’re asking you to stand up for independent reporting that will not be silenced. With more individuals like you supporting this public service, we can continue to provide essential coverage for Southern Californians that you can’t find anywhere else. Become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission.
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