L.A. County Registrar Dean Logan
Perhaps you are already tired of hearing about consequential elections? Tired of hearing about voter suppression? Tired of trying to make a difference? Surprise—you are not alone! I am, too. I would rather be out in my garden (I use the term loosely) than racking my brain trying to solve the problem of low voter turnout. I find it especially difficult now that person-to-person outreach is not only unadvisable but possibly deadly. But not to worry! Soon we will have more than one brain trying to figure out how to mobilize voters without that personal touch. Margo Reeg, second vice president of the Los Angeles County League, is forming an interagency voter services group to share ideas and leverage resources. At the same time, the L.A. County Registrar is busy streamlining the accessiblity of the new voting system (see the May League Day recap in this issue of the Voter). Collectively, we will continue the fight for our democracy by creating a more comprehensive voter service program for the fall election. We will make it more informative and accessible to all Leaguers and voters in the county by addressing:
- How to conduct candidate forums (there are several local runoff elections in November—judges, municipal elections, and district attorney)
- How to conduct ballot-measure presentations jointly by preparing YouTube videos we can all disseminate
- How to explain the vote-by-mail process (especially now that L.A. County will be sending vote-by-mail ballots to all registered voters for the November election!)
- How to encourage adoption of and familiarity with the new vote centers, especially their use for early voting
We know that personalized methods work best in mobilizing voters, and mass emails are virtually never effective in stimulating turnout. So we must now combine high-touch contacts with high-tech methods. This may be a blessing in disguise, since outreach to younger voters might be better conducted through social media. In this we need your help!
Please contact me at voterservices [at] lwv-pa.org to join the effort. And stay safe, stay calm, and occasionally move from the couch and your laptop to your desktop!
—Martha Y. Zavala
