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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 )
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.
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.”
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Those supplementals should arrive a couple days after the first vote-by-mail ballots hit mailboxes.
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