In-Person Voting Starts This Weekend For 25th District Special Election -- But You Should Probably Vote By Mail

What does voting during a pandemic look like? We’ll soon find out: nine vote centers are set to begin opening Saturday for the May 12th special election to fill an empty Congressional seat in North L.A. County. The district includes parts of Simi Valley, Santa Clarita, Porter Ranch, Palmdale and Lancaster.

Every registered voter in the district should already have a ballot after an executive order from Governor Newsom expanded vote-by-mail to address coronavirus safety concerns. Many people are already sending in ballots, according to Political Data Inc., a bipartisan voter data company.

While California provides prepaid postage for ballots, there are also 22 drop-boxes available in L.A. County. The district also includes part of Ventura County, where one in-person vote center will be open Saturday, May 9 and two centers are planned for Election Day. (More info here.)

L.A. County has issued guidelines for in-person voters and election workers, including keeping a distance of six feet and sanitizing ballot-marking devices after every use.

GO DEEPER:

• CA-25 Special Election: Who Will Represent This District During The Coronavirus Pandemic And Recovery?
• The Latino Policy and Politics Initiative at UCLA released a report in March called “PROTECTING DEMOCRACY: Implementing Equal and Safe Access to the Ballot Box During a Global Pandemic.”