As published in the Feb. 13 edition of The Malibu Times, the rules for voting in Los Angeles County have changed:
This year, Los Angeles County is rolling out a new method for voting, just in time for the March 3, 2020, primary elections. Here are helpful tips for when you head to the ballot box next month:
• Anyone registered to vote in LA County may cast a ballot at any one of the 1,000 newly announced Vote Centers spread throughout the county, from Juan Cabrillo Elementary School to the Catalina Country Club and everywhere in between. For convenience, the Vote Centers closest to Malibu have been announced at the following locations:
– Juan Cabrillo Elementary*
– Malibu Bluffs Park (Michael Landon Center)
– Topanga Library*
– Las Virgenes Unified School District (Board Room)
– Agoura Hills/Calabasas Community Center*
– Palisades Recreation Center
– Agoura Hills Civic Center
– Pierce Brothers Valley Oaks Memorial Park*
– Lindero Canyon Middle School
• Vote Centers above marked with an asterisk will be open for early voting, meaning you may cast your ballot beginning Feb. 22 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m and from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Election Day. All Vote Centers will be open beginning Feb. 29, also daily, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Election Day.
• Vote by mail ballots may be mailed, dropped off at any Vote Center or dropped off at a vote-by mail-drop-off site. A drop-off site will be located at Malibu Library and will be open from Monday to Wednesday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Thursday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Friday and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and Sunday from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
• Expect new technology. Vote Centers will now have electronic ballot-marking devices. The devices are designed to make ballots easier to read and mark, but do not transmit votes electronically; rather, they are designed to mark paper ballots which will then be submitted.
• Longtime voters may notice a change in the order of races on the ballot. In a change from previous years, the presidential primary has been moved to the end of the ballot (in an effort to increase vote turnout for so-called “down-ballot,” local, elections).
• Further information may be found by visiting lavote.net, the website for the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk in charge of administering elections.