Hey r/losangeles so if you’re like me you’re very closely following the local election, specifically Measure S. I’ve long made up my mind that Measure S would be an absolute disaster for Los Angeles and that it must be stopped. I’ve posted on Facebook, commented on reddit, and most importantly, donated my time on weekends to the No on S campaign. I’ve learned a few things that I’d like to share with you.
The mayors’ office expects voter turnout to be 15%, while I heard it expected to be as low as 13%. With turnout that low and S polling dead even (40/40 was the number I heard. I’m sceptcal of the poll putting the No side up 14 points, low sample size and high margin of error should be taken with a gran of salt Post-Hillary), a few hundred votes could swing in either side’s favor.
If you’re also like me, it seems like everyone you know is voting against Measure S. Considering the relatively low voter turnout for 18-34 year olds, this is an aberration. Here is a post from Shane Phillips, who you might know as the author of the No on S articles for Better Institutions that have been circulating. It shows a few statistics on early voting and vote by mail:
Here's some disturbing data about low turnout among those in LA that are younger, renters, people of color, and/or liberal-leaning. Don't let apathy win the day—turn in your vote-by-mail ballot or commit to showing up at the polls on March 7th!
Seniors make up 20% of those registered to vote in LA County, but they've returned almost 50% of the ballots.
48% of registered voters are white, but whites have returned 66% of the ballots.
15% of registered Republicans with mail-in ballots have turned theirs in; less than 9% of Democrats and only 6.5% of independents have returned theirs.
Over 13% of homeowners have voted, while just 8% of renters have turned in their ballots.
This is why LA's leadership and policies don't reflect our priorities: because so few of us actually show up when these decisions are being made, and those that do are less diverse, older, wealthier, and more conservative. Make your mark on Los Angeles and VOTE!
UPDATE: Here is some even more up-to-date information on election returns in the City of LA (you can also check out other cities, county, etc.): http://ift.tt/2mKxciS
Lastly, I want to show you this post by the Yes on S:
What do you see here? Older and whiter (with the exception of the black woman, obvi). I had one guy over the phone literally say he doesn’t want development “in [his] backyard, ruining everybody’s views” and that he wants to “stick it to city hall.” He proudly used the phrases we’ve used pejoratively. These people exist whether they use #MeasureS on twitter or not. It doesn’t take a genius to know the sides aren’t just split between renters and home owners but between older and younger, baby boomer and millennial, the future and the past. These people vote in huge numbers and renters, people of color, and young people, do not.
But that’s what is expected to happen, not what has to happen. At work on Monday, make it your mission to talk to at least 3 people and convince them of the severity and gravity of Measure S and how they have to vote. There is at least 3 people in every office who voted in November who don’t know there’s an election, let alone something as big as this. Tell them they can take two hours paid off from work to vote, before or after their shift. Print this out and give it to them, tape it to the communal refrigerator if you have to. Take them to http://ift.tt/2fx7CrH right there on the top and find out their poling place. We need to reach those people. 3 people here, 3 people there, pretty soon we’ve all done our duty.
Don’t let us lose Los Angeles due to apathy, misinformation and disinterest! Vote! Encourage others to vote! Make your voice heard and together we can defeat Measure S.
Submitted March 06, 2017 at 01:38PM by gronquil http://ift.tt/2ms9aYT LosAngeles
No comments:
Post a Comment