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.
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 Keep in mind that links and images may no longer work — and references may be outdated.
Wesson: Idea of luring LA voters to the polls with a lottery prompts discussion about low turnout
Council President Herb Wesson says creating a lottery for voters is a provocative idea that finally has Angelenos talking about civic participation.
(
Mae Ryan/KPCC
)
Listen
1:24
Wesson: Idea of luring LA voters to the polls with a lottery prompts discussion about low turnout
Let's be honest: voter turnout is not the most exciting topic for casual conversation. But throw in the concept of luring voters to the polls with a lottery jackpot and suddenly you get people's attention.
Council President Herb Wesson said he's had more conversations on voting in the past six days than he's had in six years. That's because the Ethics Commission asked him to look into creating a lottery that would encourage voter participation in local elections.
"If we can get the community engaged, this could be a very productive conversation," Wesson said.
Ethics commissioners suggested the city look into the creation of a lottery that would deliver a $1,000 payout to 100 lucky voters for their participation. The practice is not allowed in federal elections, but California and Arizona allow this type of incentive in local races. Still, neither state currently runs a voting lottery. Arizona voters rejected the concept of a $1 million jackpot when the proposal made it onto a 2006 ballot.
Last year's mayoral runoff between Wendy Greuel and Eric Garcetti attracted just 23 percent of registered voters to the polls. Wesson said it angers him to see Angelenos sit out elections because, "There was a revolutionary war fought to create this great union and how you couldn't, as a person, feel a debt and a responsibility to those who lost their lives to try to create this new concept with no kings and queens and dukes and duchesses."
Wesson also noted, "as a minority, all of the hell that our ancestors had to go through just for the right to vote," including poll taxes and literacy tests.
The Rules, Elections and Intergovernmental Relations Committee will discuss the lottery and other recommendations from the Elections Reform Commission later this fall. That commission suggested that moving city elections to coincide with state races might increase voter participation.
Sponsored message
Meanwhile, Wesson is seeking input on social media with the hashtag #TurnOutLA. The request is just starting to draw a response on Twitter:
.@HerbJWesson change the hash tag to #turnupLA and get @LilJon to do a PSA. #turnoutLA
— Dean Cates (@deancates) August 20, 2014
A program to register high school seniors to vote (my HS history teacher gave us extra credit if we showed proof of registration) #turnoutLA
— Michael Kapp (@michaelkapp) August 19, 2014
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
