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 Keep in mind that links and images may no longer work — and references may be outdated.
What you need to know for today's special election runoff
FILE PHOTO: Voters take part in early ballot casting at the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk in Norwalk on Wednesday morning, Nov. 2, 2016.
(
Maya Sugarman/KPCC
)
Listen
0:58
What you need to know for today's special election runoff
About 303,000 registered voters in the 34th Congressional District in the Los Angeles area have a chance to pick their next U.S. House member today.
Voters will choose between two Democrats who share similar views on many issues but differ greatly in backgrounds and experience.
The contest is between state Assemblyman Jimmy Gomez and former Los Angeles City Planning Commissioner Robert Ahn, an attorney. Gomez, who was elected to the California State Assembly in 2012, has family roots in Mexico, which should give him an advantage in the heavily Hispanic district. His parents and four siblings immigrated to California in the early 1970s.
Ahn's parents are from South Korea. Ahn has worked for his family's business as well as at private law firms. He has tapped local Asian communities for support and it has paid off in early vote by mail ballot returns. One analysis based on returned mail ballots shows Korean Americans casting ballots at a higher pace than Latinos.
If history is a guide, the winner could hold the seat for a long time. Xavier Becerra, the district's former congressman and now California's attorney general, served 12 terms in Congress. The deep-blue district was one of a handful in California that voted for Bernie Sanders over Hillary Clinton in the presidential primary last June.
The district, covering communities stretching from Eagle Rock to the Ninth Street Junction and from Koreatown to El Sereno, has a high poverty rate and struggles with major infrastructure, homelessness and crime problems.
Like much of Los Angeles County, district voters have a record of participating in low numbers: in the primary race, when Gomez and Ahn were among 23 candidates on the ballot, just 14 percent of registered voters voted.
Sponsored message
Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. You can look up your polling location information via the L.A. County's elections website. If you have a vote by mail ballot, the postmark deadline is today.
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
