To. The. Polls.
Tomorrow is finally election day in Santa Monica and across the country. Many of you have voted already. I know I have.
But for anyone waiting until election day, we offer the following guide to election day including our advice on how to vote on various ballot measures, where you can either drop off a ballot or vote.
California is one of the states that offers same-day voter registration. This means that if you are a United States citizen with government recognized i.d., you can arrive at a polling location or your county election office (which for L.A. County is Norwalk, so I’d stick with the Santa Monica locations). For more information, visit the county’s Same-Day Voter Registration Page.
Regardless of whether you are registered or not, you’ll need to find your polling location if you want to vote in-person on election day. Materials (including your mail-in or drop-off ballot) from the state and county should feature the information on where YOU’RE location is at. If you’re still not sure, the county also has a web page to help you find your location.
If Transportation is a barrier to getting out to vote, don’t forget that rides on the Big Blue Bus and Metro are free on election day.
As part of a federally recognized 501c(3) public charity, Santa Monica Next cannot endorse candidates for public office. You can read all of our election coverage, and the opinion pieces and letters that have been submitted concerning the election here.
We can also offer our thoughts on various ballot measures and we offer the following endorsements on Santa Monica and L.A. County measures.
County
YES ON MEASURE A – “As election day nears, Santa Monica Next adds its voice to the chorus of housing, labor, health, and livability advocates urging you to support efforts to address L.A. County’s homelessness crisis by voting yes on Measure A – the half-cent sales tax that will fund affordable housing, services for mental health, addiction and domestic violence, and homelessness prevention in perpetuity.”
Santa Monica
YES ON MEASURE F – “The changes would bring an estimated $3 million to the city’s coffers every year, but filling a portion of the city’s budget shortfall is a side-effect, not the goal, of the measure. The goal is to “modernize and streamline the badly outdated business license tax fee structure” to provide relief for small businesses and increase the tax fees on some of the larger businesses.”
Yes ON MEASURE QS – “But the reality is that SMMUSD is a high performing school district, and one of the main reasons for that is that the citizens of Santa Monica and Malibu have always supported the District’s efforts.”
YES ON MEASURE K – “But the city’s deficit is a real crisis and the abundance of inexpensive car parking in America is a major cause of air pollution and Climate Change. The good more than outweighs the uncertainty on how the funds will be spent and we are comfortable urging voters to VOTE YES ON MEASURE K.”
NO ON MEASURE PSK – “If the City Council wanted a ballot measure to fund, as PSK urges, “attracting and retaining well-trained police officers and firefighters, improving crime and homelessness prevention services, and increasing police patrols and enhancing emergency medical response in neighborhoods and public areas, including downtown, the pier, and the beach,” then they should have written a ballot measure that does that.”
No matter your views, we encourage you to vote like your future depends on it! We’ll be updating the site with election results and analysis throughout the week.
