Where To Vote In Studio City: Election Polling Places, Hours

LOS ANGELES, CA — Super Tuesday may be a week away, but residents in Los Angeles County can head to the polls anytime this week to cast a ballot as part of a new early-voting system.

About 20% of the nearly 1,000 new voting centers were open Saturday — a full 11 days before the election — with the balance set to open four days in advance of Election Day, March 3. The early voting and freedom to choose the most convenient polling place for the first time, are designed to make voting easier in Los Angeles. Officials also hope it will drive increased voter turnout.

Those voting in person may find that the old polling places in their neighborhood are no longer available. However, they now have the option of voting at their choice of the available vote centers — during their lunch hour at work or near school drop-off for their children — as well as the chance to vote on the weekend.

Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk Dean Logan and his team are betting that the increased convenience draws more voters to the polls, even though the changes may initially create some confusion.

"We have tried to address a broad range of interests by designing a new voting model that offers a more intuitive, accessible and secure voting experience for Los Angeles County -- placing primary emphasis on the voter," Logan said last year.

Early voting is typically available between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., however, locations and operating hours for the vote centers can be accessed online here. Voters can also call the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk at 800-815-2666, Option 1, to find their closest polling place.

Vote-by-mail ballots can be postmarked up until March 3 or dropped off at any voting center or at a ballot drop box. Drop box locations can be found at https://locator.lavote.net/locations/vbm.

Another feature of the new system is that would-be voters who missed the deadline to register can cast a conditional ballot anytime during early voting up until Election Day. Eligibility will be verified before their votes are counted.

At the centers, registered voters are handed a blank ballot with a barcode that — when inserted into the voting machine — will load the relevant national, state, county and city races onto an electronic touch-screen tool. Once they use the touch screen to select their candidates and vote on various ballot measures, their choices are printed onto a paper ballot.

Voters with access to a printer or smartphone who want to save time at the polls can access an electronic sample ballot at https://lavote.net and preload their choices onto a printed or mobile "poll pass." When the poll pass is scanned into a ballot reader at the voting center, the voter's choices are revealed and there is an opportunity to make any last-minute changes.

More information on the new system can be found at https://lavote.net.

At the end of Super Tuesday, Los Angeles County voters will have cast their ballots in the presidential primary as well as the county prosecutor's race, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors race, and several races for seats on the Los Angeles City Council.

Voters are also choosing congressional representatives, and some state Senate and Assembly seats are also up for grabs. Los Angeles County ballot initiatives on oversight of the sheriff's department and more funding for the fire department are set to be decided as well.

City News Service and Patch Staffer Paige Auston contributed to this report.