On Monday, October 7th, early voting began in California, with residents from all over Los Angeles County coming to the registration headquarters to cast their votes or drop off sealed ballots.
Some came in person because they were planning to be out of the country in November, while others came based on different political beliefs. They expressed that they made the trek to Norwalk, about 18 miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles, to ensure their votes were counted. This location opens for early voting 29 days before each election.
In recent years, an increasing number of Californians have opted for absentee or mail-in voting. In the primaries in March 2024 and the midterm elections in 2022, absentee or mail-in voting accounted for 88.6% of all ballots, higher than 86.7% in 2020 and 65% in 2018. However, many still prefer to vote in person.
62-year-old Debbie Gardner said, “I’ve heard too many horror stories of people waiting until the last minute to vote, only to be told ‘Sorry, you’ve already voted.’ So I want my vote and choice to be considered.”
For Debbie and her 69-year-old husband Joe, border security and the cost of living have been their top concerns leading up to the November 5th election.
Debbie, born in Costa Rica but raised in California, remarked, “You have to make choices: is it filling the tank, or buying groceries? When you step outside, you see the problems brought by the homeless, it’s terrifying! I never expected to see such a dire situation.”
Joe Gardner, a retired Santa Monica Police Department chief and former Republican candidate for state assembly, stated, “This (referring to the election) involves the kitchen table, the pocket change, thank God we’re doing okay, but we see our family and people around us struggling, it’s a tough time, I think a lot of the worry is concentrated on the cost of living, food, fuel, water, electricity. These costs are influenced by governmental policies, so I want to vote to change it.”
Gardner expressed that he believes the only solution is to re-elect former President Donald Trump.
However, in California, this view remains a minority. A recent public opinion poll by the Public Policy Institute of California showed that Republicans face an uphill battle, as at least 60% of people support Democratic candidates in the presidential and congressional district elections.
A voter named Diane, who preferred only to be identified by her name, stated, “I cast my vote for Kamala Harris without hesitation. Let’s put it this way, I don’t want a convicted felon representing my country, making us the laughingstock.”
She emphasized her concern for ensuring “equality for all” in California and supported Proposition 3, which aims to remove the constitutional provision limiting marriage to between a man and a woman.
She also backed Proposition 36, a ballot measure aiming to reform Proposition 47 of 2014, which imposed tougher penalties for certain theft and drug offenses. She said, “I believe that no matter who you are, if you make a mistake, you should face the consequences.”
Support for Proposition 36 is high, with about 71% planning to vote in favor, while over sixty percent indicated support for Proposition 3.
Although same-sex marriage has been legal in California for over a decade, supporters argue that Proposition 3 is necessary to safeguard marriage rights, while detractors believe it could lead to polygamy, pedophilia, and incest being legalized.
Some expressed shock that no one was required to show ID when voting.
San Bernardino County resident Kate Intarachote planned to drive later to Norwalk to vote in person with an elderly friend. She said, “You need ID to drive, you need ID to go to the bank, you need ID when you’re job hunting, voting is more important than all of that.”
Daniela Rodriguez, 60, shared the sentiment. She said, “They didn’t ask me for ID, I felt very uncomfortable; my husband wanted to show them ID, but they said, ‘no need.’ How do they know I’m a U.S. citizen?”
She added, “I am an immigrant, but not needing to show ID when voting is a big problem.”
California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a bill last month prohibiting local governments from requiring voters to show identification. Senate Bill 1174 was introduced in response to a local ballot measure approved by Huntington Beach voters, which would require voters to show valid ID starting in 2026.
In April of this year, California Attorney General Rob Bonta sued the city, arguing that the new law conflicts with state law and sought a permanent injunction to prevent Huntington Beach from implementing it.
The author of Senate Bill 1174, Dave Min, a Democratic member of the Irvine City Council, stated, “Mountains of evidence show that voter ID laws only serve to suppress voter turnout, creating barriers for lawful voters.”
Critics of the law, including the Greater Bakersfield Republican Assembly, argued at a Senate hearing that it undermines confidence in “free and fair elections” and imposes the will of the state government on local election procedures.
According to the Secretary of State’s website, California voters generally do not need to show identification “in most cases.” If newly registered voters registered by mail and did not provide a driver’s license number, California ID number, or the last four digits of a Social Security number, they may be asked to show identification. Acceptable forms of ID include utility bills or student IDs, and voters without ID will be given provisional ballots.
High taxation is another major concern for voters.
San Bernardino County resident Kate Intarachote expressed worries about Proposition 33 and other measures, a statewide initiative allowing local governments to expand rent control on residential properties.
She said, “I own rental properties, I ensure the safety of tenants, any issues, I address, that’s my responsibility, you can’t tell me, ‘You can spend $10,000 on an air conditioner, but you can’t raise rent.'”
According to recent polling, potential voters supporting Proposition 33 are narrowly in the lead, with 51% planning to vote in favor, and 46% planning to vote against.
A native of Thailand, Intarachote said, “I am a Republican. Because we are all immigrants, we work hard, my mom brought me here with nothing, just under $400 and three teenagers.”
She added, “The key is we made it, my siblings all have doctoral degrees. I am retired, we are not wealthy, but we are middle class. Why do Americans hate wealthy people? They work so hard, Republican values have always been more appealing to me.”
Debbie Gardner also noted that she has always been a Republican, but this year the issue hits close to home. She said, “I’m tired of being taxed; any new spending, I will vote against because they never tell you the real purpose of the tax.”
She pointed out the contentious debate around the use of federal disaster funds in response to Hurricane Helene’s death toll of over 230 and the devastation in communities in the southeastern United States.
Michael Sidney, 58, who grew up in Carson but spends most of the year in China, highlighted the issue of high housing costs as a top concern. He commended Kamala Harris’s proposal to offer a $25,000 grant to first-time homebuyers as timely and her “positive attitude.”
Sidney stated that inflation in California is “very severe,” despite not being as severe as claimed in news and social media, “I hope people can afford basic needs, then crime rates will definitely drop.”
He mentioned his effort to persuade his Republican family members to understand that they are voting against their own needs, while Kamala Harris is promoting a message of unity.
Suddenly becoming emotional, he exclaimed, “She wants us to come together!” He reflected on America’s increasingly divided society and expressed hope of one day healing it.
He said, “I want to see all of us coming together, all Americans working together, your race or religion doesn’t matter, that’s secondary, we are first Americans.”
When asked about what America can offer that China or other countries can’t, he said, “In America, you can be whoever you want to be, a child can grow up and impact our laws, run for senator or president, China doesn’t have that opportunity, we see that with Kamala.”
Debbie Gardner remarked that her family in Costa Rica is suffering due to American policy decisions.
She said, “What happens here affects other countries, I know my family is in pain because of the Biden administration’s new policies. They can’t forgive him.” She pointed out the rising cost of living in America and the influx of immigrants are consequences of American border policies.
She added, “They hate open borders because Costa Rica is a small country, now Colombians and Venezuelans are coming through here, wanting to come through to this open border. The population is too high, the country doesn’t have the capacity to handle so many people, they don’t have jobs, the infrastructure is insufficient.”
She criticized the policies being implemented, emphasizing the impact on her family back home whose president decided to adopt similar policies. She concluded, “You can’t do that! You can’t spend money that doesn’t belong to you and make your citizens suffer.”
Rodriguez, who voted in person with her husband, did not disclose her vote but mentioned she transitioned from being a long-standing Democratic registered voter to an “independent” voter.
She stated, “We’ve voted Democrat, we’ve voted Republican, we no longer support any party,” and focus on energy, women’s rights, abortion, and policies that bring the best outcomes for business owners and employees.
Reflecting on the presidential election, she said, “It’s a tough decision, very tough. In our household, the kids are all grown up, the four of us feel differently, in the past we were divided, this year is the first time the four of us are all supporting the same person.”
The voter registration deadline for the November 5th election is October 21st, and California county offices began mailing out ballots to registered voters on October 7th. Mailed ballots must be postmarked by Election Day or earlier and received by November 12th.