The first LA County Vote Centers opened today, with one in our area at the Wiltern Theater at the SW corner of Wilshire Blvd. and Western Ave.
Buzz contributor Dan Kegel wanted to be among the first to vote in person at the location, so he arrived at 9:30 this morning and found about 20 people already in line. (The woman at the front of the line told him she got there at 7 a.m.) Kegel said the poll workers were maintaining safe distances of at least six feet between people in line, and that when the doors opened at 10 a.m., it only took him about 20 minutes to get through the line and signed in, with another 5 minutes to vote…though the waiting line was longer when he left than when he arrived.
During his time in line, Kegel said he saw several campaign tables – for candidates David Ryu, Nithya Raman, David Kim and Godfrey Plata – set up nearby, but he said (and pollworkers confirmed to him) the tables were all outside the required 100-foot radius from the Vote Center entrance.
In addition to those voting in person this morning, Kegel said he saw several people dropping off paper ballots at the Vote Center, and several more dropping off paper ballots at an official ballot collection box at Pio Pico Branch Library, just a couple of blocks away, where he parked.
The Wiltern Vote Center will be open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily, now through November 3, and many more Vote Centers will open on Friday, October 30. You can find a full map of Vote Centers (both the 11-day centers and the more numerous 5-day centers) at locator.lavote.net.
No line at 2pm and Border Grill was handing out burritos to all who voted.