By: Iracema Navarro, Staff Reporter

In an effort to make voting more convenient and accessible, California made major changes in the process in 2016–and CSUDH is part of it. The  CSUDH Vote Center will enable voters to cast their votes in person from Feb. 29 to March 3  in room EE-1213 in the Extended Extended Auditorium, and a secured ballot box in the University Library will allow  L.A. County residents registered to vote for mail to drop off their forms through March 3.

“When the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder identified that there was going to be a new system of voting and that polling locations were now going to be transitioned over to welcome in voting centers, we right away submitted our interest to L.A. County,” said Associate Vice President of External Relations David Gamboa. “We want to clear a pathway for our communities and students to the democratic process.”

The new process is designed to open up voting for those whose work schedules, transportation difficulties, or other issues made getting to a designated polling place on election day difficult.  The state legislature’s passing of the California Voter’s Choice Act in 2016 now allows voters to vote in-person, drop off their ballot, receive a replacement ballot, access the ballot marking device, received help in multiple languages, register to vote or change their voter registration in any voting center in their county.

More than 12 counties representing half the state’s eligible voters have adopted the system in California, including L.A. County, which will have approximately 1,000 voting centers.

The deadline to register to vote is Tuesday, Feb. 18. While you cannot do that at the CSUDH Vote Center, which will not open until Saturday, Feb. 29, you can do so online at www.registertovote.ca.gov. You may also register to vote conditionally after the deadline at the county elections office after the Feb. 18 deadline.