Serving Larchmont Village, Hancock Park, and the Greater Wilshire neighborhoods of Los Angeles since 2011.

Mid City West Neighborhood Council Elections Also Coming on April 30

 

Click to see larger version of map.

Yesterday, we wrote about the upcoming election for all 21 board seats on the Greater Wilshire Neighborhood Council. But it’s important to note that our other most local Neighborhood Council, Mid City West, is also in the middle of its election cycle, and has the same April 30 in-person voting day, and deadline for postmarking of mail-in ballots.  Because each of the city’s 99 neighborhood councils is allowed to set many of its own election parameters, however, there are some big differences in the two elections.

First, while the official MCWNC election day (for in-person voting or postmarking of mail-in ballots) is the same – Sunday, April 30 – the location will be different.  In-person voting and ballot drop-offs for the MCWNC will be held at entrance to the Pan Pacific Park Rec Center, 7600 Beverly Blvd., from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Second, the Mid City West Neighborhood Council has more board members than the GWNC (36 to the GWNC’s 21), and those representatives are divided very differently.  For example, while the GWNC has seats for 15 geographic area representatives, five community special interest seats, and one At Large seat. MCWNC has only seven geographic Zones representing its various neighborhoods (see map above)…but it has three seats for Homeowners, five seats for Renters, six seats for Business representatives, six seats for representatives of Non-Profit Organizations, one Youth representative, and eight At-Large members. And according to MCWCC rules, all stakeholders are eligible to vote for all 29 non-residential-zone seats.  MCWCC residents can also vote for their own geographic Zone representative, for a total of 30 votes in all.

Currently, there are 40 candidates for MCWNC’s 36 board seats. That means that in most categories, there are exactly the same number of candidates as seats, so there’s not much competition. As long as each candidate gets at least one vote, they’ll be elected.  But there are three exceptions:  there are currently seven candidates for the six Business seats, ten candidates for the eight At Large seats, and seven candidates for the six Non-Profit seats, so the outcomes in those categories are up for grabs.   (Also, it’s worth nothing that there were originally two candidates for the single Zone 7 seat, but one of them – Thao Tran – as we heard recently from the Miracle Mile Residential Association, recently dropped out of the race to accept a position as a Field Deputy with City Council District 5.  Because Tran dropped out after the candidate list was finalized, her name will still appear on the ballot.)

 

Ballots & Voting

 

As with the upcoming GWNC elections, voters in the Mid City West election can chose to vote in person on Sunday, April 30 at the entrance to the Pan Pacific Park Rec Center, or to request a vote by mail ballot by this coming Tuesday, April 11 at 5 p.m.  Vote by Mail ballots must be returned to the city with a postmark no later than April 30, and received by the city by May 11 to be counted in the election.

 

Online Vote by Mail Ballot Applications

To submit an online application for a VBM ballot, voters must first create an Angeleno Account at https://angeleno.lacity.org/. After creating the account, voters can access the NC Portal to apply for a ballot. To access the NC Portal:

Click on the ‘Register Today’ button and enter the following information:

a. Email Address
b. Password
c. First and Last Name

An email will be sent confirming creation of the account. To activate the account, click “Activate Account” in the email. Once your Angeleno account is activated, log in and click “Services” to enter the NC Portal, then choose the “Neighborhood Council Election Portal,” select “Voter,” and then click on “Create Voter Application” to get started.

 

Paper Vote by Mail Ballot Applications

Paper applications for VBM ballots are also available at https://clkrep.lacity.org/election/ENG_2023_NC_VBM_Paper_Application.pdf through April 11.

City Clerk staff will enter the information included in the paper VBM ballot application into the NC VBM Application Portal for processing. Paper applications for VBM ballots may be submitted by:

Paper mail to:
Office of the City Clerk
Election Division
C. Erwin Piper Technical Center
555 Ramirez Street, Space 300
Los Angeles, CA 90012

Email to: [email protected]

In person at the City Clerk’s office (same as mailing address, above)

Or by fax at (213) 978-0376

 

Voter Eligibility

Please note that stakeholders must submit documentation of their stakeholder status when applying for a ballot either online or using the paper ballot request form, or when voting in person on election day.

According to Mid City West Ad Hoc Election Committee Chair Amy Goldenberg, the MCWNC “uses Self-Affirmation when voting, for both stakeholders and residents. However, for stakeholders, there needs to be an address attached to their involvement, such as a house of worship, school, business, organization, etc.”

Also, Golden explained that “for our Youth seat, voters must be at least 14 years old. All other voters must be at least 16 years old. Which means, if a voter is 14-15, they can vote only for the Youth Seat. But, what a great way for our young residents and stakeholders to vote in a local election! All other requirements for stakeholder or resident status apply to those youth voters. They must live, work, go to school, attend a place of worship, or volunteer at a non-profit within the borders of Mid City West.

For voters 16 and older, owning a business, owning property, or having a child attending school within the MCW borders are also qualifications for eligibility to vote.”

For more information on eligibility and voter documentation, see the 2023 Neighborhood Council Elections Documentation Guide at https://clkrep.lacity.org/election/2023_NC_Documentation_Guide.pdf

 

Election Timeline

Last day to request a vote-by-mail ballot – April 11
Last day to vote (in person, or postmark date for mail-in ballots) – April 30
ELECTION DAY for in-person voting – Sunday, April 30
Deadline for the city to receive ballots postmarked by April 30 is May 11

 

[This story was updated after its initial publication to add the polling hours for April 30, and voter eligibility/documentation requirements.]

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Elizabeth Fuller
Elizabeth Fuller
Elizabeth Fuller was born and raised in Minneapolis, MN but has lived in LA since 1991 - with deep roots in both the Sycamore Square and West Adams Heights-Sugar Hill neighborhoods. She spent 10 years with the Greater Wilshire Neighborhood Council, volunteers at Wilshire Crest Elementary School, and has been writing for the Buzz since 2015.

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