Truth matters. Community matters. Your support makes both possible. LAist is one of the few places where news remains independent and free from political and corporate influence. Stand up for truth and for LAist. Make your year-end tax-deductible gift now.
This archival content was originally written for and published on KPCC.org. Keep in mind that links and images may no longer work — and references may be outdated.
Los Angeles suspends city poll worker program
Workers at the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder County Elections Operations Center pack materials to be delivered to polling places into ballot boxes on October 23, 2008 in the Los Angeles-area community of Santa Fe Springs, California.
(
David McNew/Getty Images
)
Listen
1:00
Los Angeles suspends city poll worker program
Los Angeles suspends city poll worker program
The City of Los Angeles will save money on next month’s elections by suspending its city poll worker program.
For 12 years the L.A. city clerk's supplemented its pool of election day poll workers by allowing city employees to work polling booths while on the clock for their respective departments. Between 500 and 800 employees have turned out in previous elections.
The city clerk doesn't cover employee overtime any more, so it's canceling the program to avoid burdening city departments.
"Just by cutting out for this one election in May, we’re able to bring down that budget, which was originally budgeted at about $700,000," said Maria de la Luz Garcia. "We’re cutting that down by half."
The city clerk's set to handle two runoff elections on May 17: an L.A. Unified school board race between Bennett Kayser and Luis Sanchez and an L.A. Community College District board of trustees race between Lydia Gutierrez and Scott Svonkin.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our connected community. We are free to tell the full truth, to hold power to account without fear or favor, and to follow facts wherever they lead. Our only loyalty is to our audiences and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen our community.
Right now, LAist has lost $1.7M in annual funding due to Congress clawing back money already approved. The support we receive before year-end will determine how fully our newsroom can continue informing, serving, and strengthening Southern California.
If this story helped you today, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Your tax-deductible donation keeps LAist independent and accessible to everyone.
Right now, LAist has lost $1.7M in annual funding due to Congress clawing back money already approved. The support we receive before year-end will determine how fully our newsroom can continue informing, serving, and strengthening Southern California.
If this story helped you today, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Your tax-deductible donation keeps LAist independent and accessible to everyone.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief
