Confusion about polling locations and uncertainty about
registration status troubled many UCLA students trying to vote in
Tuesday’s election.
Some students, after not receiving a notification by mail,
weren’t sure if they were registered to vote in Los Angeles
County.
Other students who were registered didn’t know where their
specific polling location was.
“Because students move around so much, they become
confused about where they are registered to vote. Most students who
come here don’t even know if they are at the correct polling
location,” said Sean Gallaher, a polling inspector for the
polling location at 500 Landfair Ave.
“I never received my voter’s notification card, so I
wasn’t sure where I was supposed to vote,” said
Jonathan Cooper, a fourth-year English student who registered in
Los Angeles County a few weeks ago. Cooper ended up having to call
the County of Los Angeles Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk to find
out his polling location.
Others chose to try their luck at a random location.
“I’m just going to go to the same polling place my
friend is going to,” said Dominic Tang, a fourth-year
microbiology, immunology and molecular genetics student who also
didn’t receive anything by mail.
UCLA students who hadn’t received notification by mail and
weren’t sure where to go to vote took advantage of this
year’s new provisional ballot.
The provisional ballot entitles people to vote whose names
don’t appear on precinct rolls at polling stations. These are
usually individuals who have registered in the county but
aren’t at the correct polling location, Gallaher said.
Before provisional ballots can be counted, election officials
must verify they were cast by registered voters from the specific
county, which could cause a delay in counting provisional votes.
Voters can verify their votes by phone 40 days after the election
date.
Some students were confused about the provisional ballot
procedure.
“I’m going to try and vote provisionally, but
I’m not sure I will be able to,” said Kamaile Crowell,
a first-year student who lives in the dorms. She used her home in
Hawaii as her primary address and her dorm as her secondary one
when she registered and now isn’t sure if she will be able to
vote.
“A few students didn’t realize they had to register
under L.A. County to be able to vote provisionally,” said
Christina Jimenez, a student clerk at the 515 Landfair Ave.
location.
But aside from minor problems, officials said voting operations
around UCLA went relatively smoothly.
“Things are running as smooth as can be expected. Our
biggest glitch was when one of the pens being used to stamp the
ballots broke,” said Lorin Speltz, a student inspector at 515
Landfair Ave.