Election Day: LA County voters head to the polls

Election Day has arrived. Today is your chance to make your voice heard in this election. Yep, we have team coverage this morning. We'll start with Gigi Graciette. She is live at the L.A. County Registrar's Office in Norwalk with more on how you can cast your ballot today. Good morning to you, Gigi. Jen and Bob, good morning. Still plenty of options. Remember, voting is both a privilege and a civic duty. And we've seen a lot of folks arrive here at the registrar's office to drop their ballots off in this ballot box right here in front of the registrar. And it says clearly this ballot box will close at 8 p.m. on election day. So you still have until 8 o'clock tonight to either mail in your ballot, vote in person, or drop it off at one of the boxes. And a lot So take a look in LA County alone, there are almost 6 million registered voters and according to the LA County Registrar recorder, they've already seen a higher turnout for this election than for similar elections in the past. As of October 30th, over a million people have already voted. That represents over 17% of registered voters who have voted in this election. Now we spoke to some folks this morning dropping off their ballots, they told us they studied They studied the books, they did their homework, and that there were several issues that really mattered to them. But what mattered most was getting their vote in. I feel like, I mean, at least some people should come out and even if you don't usually vote, I'm still a pretty young voter, but I feel like it's important just to get out there and do the right thing and just at least get your vote out there. Most people think it doesn't matter, but I feel like at the end of the day, every vote counts at least. What do you say to folks who, I didn't have time, I don't care, it doesn't matter, my vote doesn't count, blah, blah, blah? I say to them that they really don't care because that's a lame excuse. You have plenty of time. And when... Get your vote in and you know there are still a lot of races that are too close to call and you have a lot of options. Let's go over them quickly. You can use a drop box in LA County. There are over 428 of them, 429 to be exact. Officials secured drop boxes. Remember though your ballot must be in the box by 8 p.m. You can mail it in. You don't even need a stamp. Just put it in the official envelope that you received your ballot in. Best idea, best advice, walk it into the post office. That way you Make sure it gets postmarked today. It must be postmarked today. And of course, you can still vote in person. Remember, in LA County, you can vote at any location. Polls open at 7 AM, they close at 8 PM, bringing it back here live. This ballot box will close at 8 PM. No ballots will be accepted after 8 PM, so make sure you follow that deadline, you heed that deadline. There's only one exception. If you're in line by 8 PM, even if it's a really long line, It's a really long line and you know you're not going to get your vote in by 8. Your vote will still be counted. You will be allowed to vote. So if you pull up to a site at 7.55 and you see a really long line around the block, don't worry. If you get in line and you're in line by 8 PM, you will be allowed to vote and your vote, of course, will count. Reporting live in Norwalk this morning, I'm Gigi Gracia, back to you. Also Gigi, you can go to any vote center. You don't have to rush home and people might think, I have to go to my regular polling Right. That's the polling place that I always go to. If there's one nearby, just stop it. Good morning. Yeah. Come over here. And you know what? A lovely voter right here. Good morning. How are you? I'm good, Gigi. How are you? Good. I'm actually Gigi too. You're Gigi too? Yeah. That's what my grandbaby called me. Okay. Two Gigi's. I just found out that Gigi means grandmother, but I digress. Let's talk about the election. Were there, I'm not gonna ask you how you voted, of course, but were there some issues that were really important to you? Several. Which ones? Several. My governor? That's an important one for me. And a lot of the propositions. So I took a lot of time. We vote as a family. So we took a lot of time. We investigated everything. We went into detail before we voted. So I want to make sure I drop it off. You are the ideal voter. You did your homework. I did my homework. That's for you. Nice to meet you, Gigi. Have a great day. Thank you. Thank you. Bye. Isn't she lovely? I love this. I've actually heard that from a couple of people. They told me they did their homework as a family. They actually sat down together around the dining room table. They discussed the different propositions. They discussed their different options. That's a great way, especially if you have younger kids. Get them involved in the process, talk to them about it, and they're gonna grow up to be great productive citizens. Yes. From one diligent Gigi to another. Yeah, I know. That was great, Gigi. Right? Right? Yeah. Thank you, Gigi. Thank you. We'll check in with you. So, L.A. Mayor Karen Bass and City Councilmember Nithya Raman are in a close race this election day. Yep. A lot of eyes on this race. Mario is live in Baldwin Hills with more, and you're talking to some of the voters this morning. Yeah, good morning. We're at CJ's Cafe. This is just down Good morning. the street from a polling place that opens at 7 o'clock. Sir, what is your name? My name's Aaron. Aaron. Okay, so Aaron just walked in. I told him that we would come and have a seat with him. So Aaron, you've already cast your ballot. Is that right? Yes. Okay, so how are you feeling? It's election day. What issues are you concerned about as we head into this day? Mostly just environmental issues. I'm not too big on the governor race. Okay, and you said you're not really interested in the mayor's race either. Interesting, but tell me about the proposition that you're concerned about. Prop 45. I just hope it passes. Yeah, and tell me a little bit about why. I care about the environment. So environmental funding, very good, very good. And as we're waiting for the election to get underway, Election Day, of course, the big mayoral race. So let's get into it. Let's start with City Council member Nithya Raman. She is expected to vote in Silver Lake today. And she is running up against the incumbent, Mayor Karen Bass. She's promising greater accountability for homelessness spending, including a public dashboard to track results and tying city contracts to performance on housing. She wants to speed up construction by cutting red tape, making it easier to build more homes. And on public safety, she's called for replacing LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell and expanding unarmed crisis response teams. Meantime, Mayor Karen Bass, the incumbent here, she's asking voters for four more years, pointing to her work on homelessness and housing, her signature Inside Safe program has moved thousands of people from encampments into temporary housing, and her administration has worked to speed up approvals for affordable housing. But she's faced criticism over the cost and results of the city's homelessness response, the budget problems, and her handling of the Palisades fire, and she wants to continue. She says the work already underway, but the latest UC Berkeley LA Times poll shows both candidates at 40% among likely voters, 19% still undecided. So, with all that said, sir, you still don't know who you would vote for for mayor? No, I don't know. Very good. I appreciate it. Hey, and this guy, thank you for talking to us. This guy over here, you were on your way to the bank. You said you would stop back in. Okay, did you cast your ballot? It's election day. Yes, it's already done, sir. Okay, very good. What are the issues that you care about? Are you interested in the mayoral race, the governor's race? Mayor, governor, homeland security. Taxes, homeowners insurance that's going through the roof, homelessness. A lot. So you live here in Baldwin Hills? Yes, sir. Okay, any issues that are facing you, property owner? Are you looking for affordable housing, any issues that you're directly connected to? Property taxes are too high for the area. We work hard, we do all we can, but yet the homelessness around the area is too much. So these things are out of control, in my opinion. And do you mind sharing who you're voting for for mayor? Karen Bass. All right. Very good. Thank you, sir. Appreciate it. Nice to meet you. Thanks for coming back. So that is what we're hearing from voters. Go ahead. Yeah. Yeah. Get a seat. The coffee is good, you guys. So CJ's Cafe here in Baldwin Hills. We'll send it back to you.