How to find the closest vote center with the shortest line
Election day is here, which means it’s the final chance to cast your ballot for the midterm election.
Early voting options have allowed more than 5.5 million Californians to cast their ballot ahead of election day, according to Political Data Intelligence, voter data analysis software.
However, with more than 23 million registered voters in the state, there are still nearly 18 million people who potentially could head to the polls, which could translate to long lines at polling places and voting centers.
You can avoid long wait times. Here’s how to do that, plus a few other helpful tips on election day.
How to avoid long lines at the polls
On election day, voting and polling centers are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
The Los Angeles County registrar-recorder/county clerk’s website has a vote center locator online.
By entering your address, the locator will create a list of voting centers that are less than a mile away or as far as 10 miles.
Included with the vote center address is how long the current wait time is at that specific location.
The wait times are color coded as follows:
- Dark green: 15 minutes or less
- Light green: 16 to 30 minutes
- Yellow: 31 to 45 minutes
- Orange: 46 to 60 minutes
- Red: More than 1 hour
- Blue: Wait time unavailable
I’m at a vote center but left my ballot at home
You can request a provisional ballot at any polling place in the county in which you are registered to vote.
A provisional ballot is a regular ballot that is placed in a special envelope prior to being put in the ballot box.
It’s counted once election officials verify that you are a registered voter in that county and haven’t already voted in the election.
How to participate in ‘curbside voting’ for registered voters with disabilities
All polling places and voting centers are required to be accessible to voters with disabilities and will have accessible voting machines.
Any voter who cannot reach the voting area at the center because of architectural barriers or physical limitations may request to vote curbside — whether the voter is physically on the curb or in their car.
There is a sign posted outside of every vote center with a phone number to call an election worker who will bring a ballot to the voter, according to the Los Angeles County registrar-recorder/county clerk.
I forgot my check-in code for in-person voting
Los Angeles County election officials say you can check in at a voting center by scanning your “quick check-in code” — a number that verifies your voter registration.
Your unique code can be found on your mailed sample ballot and vote center postcard. Take either of those hard copies to the vote center.
If you forgot the hard copies, you can find the code online. You retrieve it by verifying your voter registration here. You’ll need to input your last name, birth date, the house number of your residential address and your ZIP Code.
For assistance call, (800) 815-2666, Option 2.
How late is too late to vote at the polls on election night?
In California, any voter who is in line at 8 p.m. when the polls are scheduled to close is allowed to vote, according to the secretary of state.
If there is a line when the polls close, a poll worker stands at the back of the line to let people who arrive after 8 p.m. know that the polls have closed.
Any voter who arrives after the polls have closed may not be allowed to vote, even if voters who were in line to vote before the polls closed are in the process of voting.