Bustling with early voters looking to cast their votes for the upcoming election, LBCC’s early voting center opened Saturday in the T building on the Liberal Arts Campus.
The voting center is accessible to both students and community members who wish to cast their ballots in the 2024 election.
The center features electronic voting booths with options for people to cast their ballot in a different language, allowing those who do not speak English as their primary language to vote.
Latoya Walker, an employee of the city of Los Angeles has worked polling stations for many years, but this was her first time working at the LAC center; she was pleased to be assisting voters and to see centers located on campus.
“It’s good to give students the time and place to vote,” Walker said. “Sometimes people need to take time off work or school to vote so that is more convenient.”
Walker said within the first hour of being open, the center saw around 60 voters.
“In my 12 years of working polling centers, this is the busiest I’ve seen,” Walker said.
While many students were not seen on campus, poll workers expected traffic to pick up during the week when classes are in session.
Many who went to the center during the first few hours of it being open were older individuals and those with families who had the morning free.
Mike Wade, a community member who was amongst the first to utilize the polling center, was thankful for the easy access and technology that was accessible to all.
“It was very helpful and efficient,” said Wade. “The technology is easy to use and simplifies the process.”
Some community members who were not familiar with LAC expressed concern over the minimal signage and directions on how to locate the voting center.
Gerry Scudder and Judy Marshall both found the voting process quick and easy to complete, but struggled to find the LAC voting center compared to centers previous years.
“There was only one little sign,” said Scudder, “and we didn’t know where T-1200 was so we were looking for a bit.”
They eventually found the center and were glad to have cast their ballots in time for the election.
Voters are not required any documentation or registration to show up to the voting center and cast their ballots.
“Just show up and show us who you are.” Walker said.
The voting center opened over the weekend and will remain open each day from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. until election day on Nov. 5, when it will stay open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.