“Highly strung.” “Emotional.” “Concerned.” “Insecure.”

Voters in the Los Angeles area were feeling much the same as the rest of the country when Election Day dawned.

But with the state’s liberal majority’s support for California-born Vice President Kamala Harris in the presidential race all but assured, voters hoped to affect down-ballot measures and races that could have an everyday impact on their lives. Ballot issues related to housing costs (Proposition 33), retail theft and drug addiction (Proposition 36), schools (Proposition 2) and dozens of local races were taking them to the polls.

“That’s an absolute no for me,” said Koryn Frye-Fuentes, 30, widening her eyes for emphasis as she discussed Proposition 36 outside her polling place in Plummer Park in West Hollywood. Incarceration “does not help people with drug addiction.” The proposal, backed by authorities, seeks to impose harsher sentences for retail theft and drug possession. And it strikes a chord in Los Angeles, where certain supermarket aisles are now located. locked up, theft has increased and people openly use drugs.

The measure would roll back Proposition 47, passed a decade earlier to reduce prison overcrowding and direct funds toward rehabilitation.

But it wasn’t just local issues that drove people to the polls. Even if Californians had little chance to influence the presidential race, they wanted to take their stand in what they considered a historic election, in which many voters came out to vote for the first time.

“I never follow politics. I don’t follow the people on the council,” said Ernie Quintana, a 44-year-old Puerto Rican in El Sereno. “This is my first time.”

He came because he wanted to make sure Trump won.

“I’m sorry we made America great again,” said Quintana, who was recently fired. He said he was not offended by comedian Tony Hinchcliffe. calling Puerto Rico trash before a packed Donald Trump rally in New York last month. “He’s a comedian,” he scoffed. “I didn’t take it personally.”
Furthermore, he added, there is a lot of corruption in Puerto Rico.

As for the rest of the 10 state ballot measures, the U.S. Senate race and other local issues, the only issue he has a firm interest in is Proposition 36.

“There are a lot of people who repeat the robbery and don’t get in trouble,” he said. “Many of these stores are closing. Walmart, target. You go to those places and everything is under lock and key.”

While a couple of outlying polling places saw waits of up to an hour, most had waits of less than 15 minutes and election officials had not reported any machine malfunctions. And by then the majority of voters had already cast their votes.

“Since 2020, approximately 80% of people who have voted in an election have used a mail-in ballot,” said Michael Sánchez, spokesman for the Registrar-Recorder/Clerk. “I hope that stays. I think when everything calms down, we will see that trend continue.”

Election officials expect more than 3 million votes to be cast in Los Angeles County. As of noon Tuesday, more than 1.7 million mail-in ballots were being processed. Another 612,000 people had voted in more than 600 centers throughout the region. The majority of those votes were expected to be reflected in the results released by the Registrar/Registrar on Tuesday night. But an unknown number of mail-in votes continue to arrive.

Preparing for the worst-case scenario, law enforcement officials were on high alert across the county, although no specific threats had been made as of midday.

At the Connie Norman Transgender Empowerment Center in the Fairfax district the atmosphere was celebratory and Andrea Ruth, 53, enjoyed the “festive” voting experience.

“Every time someone finished voting, everyone applauded,” he exclaimed.

Ruth, who has a school-age son in the Los Angeles Unified School District, said she was supporting funding for more education. Proposition 2 is a bond measure that would allow California to borrow $10 billion to help finance repairs and improvements at thousands of public schools and community colleges. “I’m glad there’s so much money on the table for LAUSD.”

Katelyn, a 37-year-old voter from West Hollywood who declined to give her last name, said she was moved by Proposition 33, which gives local jurisdictions greater freedom to regulate rents.

“I’m in West Hollywood, which already had rent control and that really helped during the pandemic,” he said while delivering his mail-in ballot. “It has allowed me to stay in this neighborhood that I love.”

During the closures, he said, neighbors helped each other and the building cultivated a sense of community, in part because people could afford to stay in the same apartments for so long.

“I feel like if that could spread in Los Angeles, it would be helpful,” he said.

On the other side of the city, María Cordes, 59, and her friend Teresa Ayala, 83, arrived at the El Sereno voting center, motivated by different reasons for the presidential election and common in some of the state and local races.

Cordes, a Mexican immigrant who lost her job as a nursing assistant due to an injury, voted for Trump because she felt he promised a better economic outlook. Ayala, a Salvadoran immigrant, said she felt the same way about Harris.

Both were offended by shoplifters they had seen leaving stores while families struggled to pay for their meals and voted in favor of Proposition 36.

“I want them to be punished,” Ayala said. “Are there people out there who can’t afford to eat and then they steal things?”

Both also endorsed their current council member, Kevin de León, who was embroiled in controversy for his involvement in a 2022 scandal involving a leaked audio recording with colleagues that contained inflammatory comments. Her opponent, tenant rights attorney Ysabel Jurado, was recently recorded by an assistant of de León saying “Fuck the police.”

“The other woman offended the police,” Ayala said. “And he’s done a lot for the community.”

But Alex Zayas, a 27-year-old nursing assistant who lives in a rent-stabilized apartment, doesn’t see it that way. While De León helped clear streets that were filled with people living in RVs, Zayas said, problems remain. He pointed to a nearby corner, about two blocks from De León’s office, where he said people openly use drugs.

“It’s like we’re back to square one.”