Two related stories.
Early to the party - Voting: Poll workers say regional centers are swamped on first day of in-person balloting.
Scattered paper jams, tech glitches don’t spoil first in-person day at the polls. many of 2020’s early voters showed up to voting centers before they even opened on Saturday, Oct. 24, the first day of in-person balloting in Los Angeles County.
But much to the relief of voters and elections officials, the kind of polling-place meltdowns that left voters angered and election officials worried back in March, when the county debuted its $300 million network of vote centers, did not repeat. Back in March, for the primary, many voters were left seething after tech glitches delayed the opening of some sites and even forced the Hollywood site to close down.
But Saturday’s voting played out much more smoothly. And when issues did pop up, they appeared to have been resolved quickly in most cases.
Behind the scenes, poll workers reported paper jams and other tech issues, some of which caused short delays.
Many voters were certainly eager to cast their ballots. Several voting centers saw a line wrapped around the building before they opened. Such hubs included large polling locations, such as the Arboretum and Botanical Gardens in Arcadia, stocked with 45 of the county’s new voting devices.
Santa Anita Park to be a Los Angeles County polling place (Vote Center) for the first time in the racetrack's 86 year history. It'll be on the first floor of its Clubhouse, open 9 AM - 8 PM from October 30 through November 2 and 6 AM - 9 PM on November 3.
If Proposition 68 is approved on the 2004 ballot, slot machines will be operated at Santa Anita Park. This is a statewide initiative about which City of Arcadia officials remained neutral.
Steinmeier and Yuen are elected to School Board. Yuen is the first Asian-American elected to the board and this was the first full election conducted on computerized voting machines in LA County.
Steinmeier and Yuen win seats on the school board. This was the first election to be conducted totally on touchscreen voting machines and results were available in 51 minutes.
Six candidates will vie for three spots on the school board in the April 15 election. Incumbent school board members Maryann Gibson, John McClain, and James Romo, will run for re-election. Also running are Fred Peritore, Daniel Haste, and Roger Sonnenberg.
The cities of Arcadia and Monrovia jointly purchased the Opto-MARK voting system for $12,000. The system replaces the Data Hole Punch Card and will be used on alternating years by each city.
The police department has been authorized to employ four new officers which will increase sworn personnel to 73. The department is purchasing three vehicles for parking control. Also authorized was the purchase of two narcotic sniffing dogs trained for the full range of police dog work.
Arcadia okays all mail-in ballot for this spring's election. This marks Arcadia's third consecutive all mail-in election since adopting a 2011 ordinance that granted City Council authority to eliminate traditional polling in advance of a general municipal election. The mail-in election costs $115,000, the traditional one about 10% more.
23 "heroes and heroines" in the Arcadia Unified School District were honored by the Board of Education in the first "Profiles in Excellence" awards. The awards were presented to "individuals who maintain a standard of excellence in their work and who represent those values and qualities which make Arcadia a special place for students." Names and positions of winners are given.
For the first time in history, the Arcadia Board of Education voted to receive pay for its services. The board granted itself a monthly stipend of $125 to defray out-of-pocket expenses associated with serving on the board.
The Arcadia Board of Education will vote on a policy change regarding the release of students' personal information to military recruiters, colleges or prospective employers. In the past, Arcadia has had an "opt-in" policy, in which parents must specifically request information be made available, particularly to military recruiters. This policy is no longer allowed under federal guidelines, so the district will adopt an "opt-out" policy, putting the burden on parents to decide when information will be withheld.
Due to a lack of competition, the Arcadia School Board has canceled an April election and instead has appointed two newcomers, Lori Phillipi and Cung Nguyen, and incumbent Maryann Gibson.