Wave Staff and Wire Reports
LOS ANGELES — Nov. 5 is the final day to cast ballots in this year’s presidential election.
All 648 vote centers in Los Angeles County will be open Nov. 2, operating from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. On Nov. 5, the vote centers will all be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
“The ballot in this election is extensive and includes contests and candidates from the neighborhood and local levels through state offices, measures, and federal representatives,” the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder’s Office said in a statement. “Voters are encouraged to review their ballots carefully and vote early.”
Residents who missed the registration deadline for the election but still want to vote can visit a vote center and complete a conditional voter registration form and cast a ballot. The ballot will be held until the voter’s eligibility is confirmed.
In addition to the presidential election, which includes four other candidates besides former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris, there are races for U.S. Senate, congressional seats, seats in the state Senate and Assembly, district attorney, local city council and school board elections, as well as water boards and judicial elections and ballot measures.
Los Angeles and 19 other cities within The Wave’s coverage area will conduct city council elections. Two races to watch are in the Los Angeles 10th and 14th Council Districts.
In the 10th District, City Councilwoman Heather Hutt will face Grace Yoo. Hutt was appointed as caretaker councilwoman for District 10 last year following the indictment and conviction of Mark Ridley-Thomas on federal corruption charges. Yoo finished a distant second to Ridley-Thomas in the 2020 10th District election.
In the 14th District, incumbent Councilman Kevin de León is being challenged by Ysabel Jurado, a tenants rights attorney.
An open seat in the 35th state Senate District, serving Westchester, Inglewood, Watts, Willowbrook, Compton, Gardena and Carson, has former U.S. Rep. Laura Richardson facing former Compton City Councilwoman Michelle Chambers. Incumbent Steven Bradford could not seek reelection due to the state’s term limit restrictions.
The 57th Assembly District, covering downtown and South Los Angeles, also was impacted by term limits. Incumbent Reggie Jones-Sawyer couldn’t seek reelection. Efren Martinez, a businessman and education commissioner, is running against Sade Elhawary, a community organizer and educator. Both are Democrats.
Three seats on the seven-member Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education are up for grabs, including two seats left open by the pending retirements of Jackie Goldberg and George McKenna.
Battling for McKenna’s District 1 seat — representing areas including Palms, South Los Angeles, Baldwin Hills and Koreatown — are community organizer Kahllid Al-Alim and longtime Dorsey High School teacher Sherlett Hendy Newbill.
In District 5, which stretches from the East Hollywood and Eagle Rock area to southeast Los Angeles, teacher and Huntington Park City Councilwoman Graciela “Grace” Ortiz is battling with teacher Karla Griego to take over the seat being vacated by Goldberg, who has held the post since 2019.
Early voting has already been under way, with residents able to return their ballots by mail or at drop boxes. Vote center locations in Los Angeles County can be found at locator.lavote.gov. Residents can visit any vote center, regardless of where they live in the county. People can cast their vote in person at the centers, or drop off their mail-in ballot.
