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.
LA County's Registrar Responds To Trump Claims About The 25th District Special Election
As you may have heard, there’s a special election for Katie Hill’s former House of Representatives seat coming up on Tuesday (as in tomorrow) in North L.A. and eastern Ventura counties.
Last week, local Democrats complained that the City of Lancaster, where a high proportion of African American residents live, didn’t have an in-person vote center for the election. The local party and the campaign for Democratic candidate Christy Smith said this could disenfranchise voters of color.
On Friday, the county announced it would open a new polling place in Lancaster for the second weekend of early voting, and for Election Day, in addition to the 12 total planned for Los Angeles and Ventura parts of the district.
Now Republicans are crying foul: Party officials say the last-minute addition of a vote center is a dirty power play by Democrats hoping to hold on to the seat the party flipped in 2018.
“They are desperate and trying to change the rules to steal an election,” said GOP candidate Mike Garcia on Twitter.
And there was also this:
So in California, the Democrats, who fought like crazy to get all mail in only ballots, and succeeded, have just opened a voting booth in the most Democrat area in the State. They are trying to steal another election. It’s all rigged out there. These votes must not count. SCAM!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 9, 2020
Sponsored message
L.A. County Registrar Dean Logan responded today on our local news show, Take Two, which airs on 89.3 KPCC.
Logan said Lancaster’s Republican Mayor, R. Rex Parris, and other community members asked for the new location, and that critics were engaging in “selective outrage.”
“We’re unapologetic about providing opportunities to vote,” he said, adding the new vote center had nothing to do with politics. “It’s serving all voters. Our process has no relevance for who the person is voting for, it’s about making sure they have that opportunity.”
The counties mailed every voter in the district a ballot, and most will either turn them in to a secure drop box or mail them back. For those who need to go to an in-person center — either for disability access, language help, same-day registration or any other reasons — Logan said spreading out voters over more locations will also be safer during the pandemic.
GO DEEPER:
Our news is free on LAist. To make sure you get our coverage: Sign up for our daily coronavirus newsletter. To support our non-profit public service journalism: Donate Now.
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
