ELECTIONS 2024

By Mary O’KEEFE

“Elections belong to the people. It’s their decision. If they decide to turn their back on the fire and burn their behinds, then they will just have to sit on their blisters.” –President Abraham Lincoln

All elections are important but the March 5 primary election brings a lot for voters in our readership area to consider. Many times there may be one office that gets most of the attention but this upcoming March 5 election sees several offices that have incumbents either leaving their office to run for another or stepping away altogether from political life. And then there are those incumbents who are running again and facing a higher number of well-known candidates competing for their seat.

And of course there is the primary decision on who will be the candidate for the presidential election in November. Although March 5 is a primary election, voters who register with no party preference can still vote. On Dec. 4, the LA County Registrar-Recording/County Clerk office mailed 1.3 million notices to voters that had chosen no party preference. The notice includes crucial information on how to request a ballot with presidential candidates included.

“In a Presidential Primary Election, the political party determines whether No Party Preference voters may request their party’s ballot – a process commonly known as ‘crossover’ voting. In the upcoming Presidential Primary Election, the American Independent, Democratic and Libertarian parties allow No Party Preference voters to crossover and request their party’s ballot to vote for one of their presidential candidates. The mailed notice contains a postage-paid Crossover Request Form, which voters can complete and return by placing it back in the mail,” according to the LA County Registrar-Recording/County Clerk.

Here are some dates to remember:

On Dec. 14 the California Secretary of State will hold a public drawing to determine the order of candidate names on the ballot by randomly drawing each letter of the alphabet.

The last day for the California Secretary of State to transmit the certified list of candidates is Dec. 28. On Jan. 25 a voter information guide will be mailed to all registered voters. Vote by Mail ballots will be mailed to registered voters on Feb. 5. On Feb. 24 sample ballot booklets will be mailed out to every registered voter; also on that day vote centers will open.

For information regarding the March 5 election in LA County go to www.lavote.gov or call Registrar of Voters at (800) 815-2666.