Voter's Choice California - Los Angeles

Asian Americans Advancing Justice — Los Angeles

Disability Rights California

National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) Educational Fund

From our founding in 1970 through today, a core principle of Common Cause is that as more eligible Americans participate, our democracy becomes stronger. In 1971, we led the campaign that won the 26th amendment to the U.S. Constitution, allowing 18 year-olds to vote. Today, California Common Cause and our partners work to make elections more fair and accessible.

Voter's Choice California - Los Angeles members have paved the path for increased youth participation, expanded voting rights, and flexible voting systems that meet the needs of all voters. Voter's Choice California - Los Angeles membership includes ACLU of California, Asian Americans Advancing Justice — Los Angeles, California Calls, California Common Cause, Coalition of Humane Immigrant Rights Los Angeles (CHIRLA), Disability Rights California, Future of California Elections, National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) Educational Fund, Rock the Vote, and United Cerebral Palsy of Los Angeles County.

Government responsiveness to residents’ needs

Voting rates

An informed and prepared electorate is crucial to increasing voting rates. Our goal is to boost voting rates across LA County’s communities and to foster a government that is reflective of and responsive to all residents.

2020 is a huge election year for LA County voters with the moving up of the presidential primary date and the implementation of a new voting system. For the first time, many voters will also be voting on a range of races, including who should serve on City Council and who the presidential nominee should be, all on the same ballot. A robust and inclusive voter outreach plan is critical to ensure that the reforms successfully increase voter participation. By connecting with voters about the changes early and promoting broad participation in hands-on learning events, we will ensure that voters are prepared and excited to cast their ballots with a new voting system in 2020.

LA County RR/CC has planned a Fall 2019 Mock Election and Demo Centers to promote public awareness of the new voting system. This will be the first opportunity for the public to experience the new voting system firsthand before voting in a real election. The first piece of our proposal is to educate voters about the changes and expand voter participation in the Mock Election and Demo Centers. The second piece is to collect feedback from voters on their experiences participating in the Mock Election.

In June 2019 — September 2019, we will develop education materials including fact sheets and graphics on the changes, including translated materials. These materials will be distributed through online platforms including our central resource hub at voterschoice.org. We will conduct outreach with a focus on engaging organizations that work with language minority groups, low income communities, geographically isolated communities, and voters with disabilities. We will focus on communities who have been traditionally been underrepresented and whose early engagement would improve their voting rates in 2020.

In September 2019, we will continue our outreach and boost promotion efforts to encourage public participation in the Fall 2019 Mock Election. During this time, we will connect with voters to get their feedback on their experience, including their thoughts on the changes, the location, and the voting process. We will also visit Mock Election sites to observe voters.

In October 2019 — February 2020, we will continue connecting with voters on their voting experience to compile feedback and document any issues to improve the future voting experience. We will also reach out to Demo Center visitors to hear their feedback.

This project serves as a pilot that will inform our 2020 election outreach work and will prepare our communities to make their voices heard in the elections. Through this work, we can ensure that voters feel confident and prepared to cast their ballots in the 2020 elections.

Success for this project would mean:

- An influx of new community-based organizations supporting and/or partnering on the new voting system implementation project. These community-based organizations would be representative of Los Angeles County's demographic and geographic diversity.

- The Mock Election and Demo Centers invited demographically and geographically representative participation.

- A successful rollout of the new voting system with minimal voter confusion and high voter participation and confidence, accessibility, and satisfaction in the system. Our organizations are all involved in operating voter hotlines and poll monitoring programs during elections. Our call volume, feedback from the hotline, and reports from the field will be a strong measure of the success of our outreach campaign.

- Development of information channels trusted by the public, which we will also use to distribute critical information about the 2020 elections.

- Higher rates of participation in municipal and federal races on the 2020 ballot.

With broader election participation, election results in the local and federal will be more reflective of the population’s values. This leads to a more satisfied electorate, who is confident in their political system and more likely to continue showing up to vote.

- As many of our organizations are leading Census 2020 and redistricting work, the partnerships we build in this project will pave the path for strengthened relationships leading into this next cycle of work.