NORWALK, Calif.—As early voting opened Oct. 7 in California, residents from across Los Angeles County trickled through the registrar’s headquarters to cast their votes or drop off sealed ballots.
Some came in person because they planned to be out of the country in November, while others, of varying political persuasion, said they made the trek to Norwalk, about 18 miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles, to make sure their vote was counted. The location is open for early voting starting 29 days before every election.
“I’ve heard too many horror stories of people waiting until the last minute, showing up and being told, ‘no, you already voted,’” said Debbie Gardner, 62. “I want my vote to count, my views.”
In recent years, Californians are increasingly opting for absentee—or mail-in—voting, which accounted for 88.6 percent of all ballots in both the 2024 March primaries and the 2022 general election, up from 86.7 percent in 2020 and 65 percent in 2018. But many still prefer to vote in person.
For Gardner and her husband, Joe, 69, border security and the cost of living were top concerns going into the Nov. 5 general election.
“You have to make choices—do I put gas in the car, or do I buy food? You walk outside and the homeless issues, it’s horrible. I never in my lifetime thought I would see it this bad,” said Debbie, who grew up in California but was born in Costa Rica.
“It’s kitchen-table, pocketbook stuff,” said Joe Gardner, a retired Santa Monica police sergeant and former Republican candidate for State Assembly. “Thank God we’re doing well, but we see our family members and people around us who are struggling, it’s tough times. And I think most of it centers on costs of living—food, fuel, utilities—driven by government policy, so I want to vote to change it.”
Gardner said he saw reelecting former President Donald Trump as the only solution.
Such remains a minority view in California, where recent polling from the nonpartisan Public Policy Institute of California shows Republicans face an uphill battle, as at least 60 percent favor the Democratic ticket in races for the presidency and Congressional districts.
Residents line up outside the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk in Norwalk, Calif., on Oct. 7, 2024. (Sophie Li/The Epoch Times)
A voter casts his ballot at the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk in Norwalk, Calif., on Oct. 7, 2024. (Sophie Li/The Epoch Times)
Diane, a voter who asked to only be identified by her first name, said, “I voted for Harris and there’s no doubt about it. Let’s put it this way—I don’t want a convicted felon representing my country and making a fool of us.”
The voter said she was concerned with ensuring “equality for all” Californians and supported Proposition 3—which would remove language from the state constitution defining marriage as only between a man and a woman.
She also supported Prop. 36, a citizen ballot measure that would reform 2014’s Prop. 47 and re-introduce stricter penalties for certain theft and drug crimes. “I believe you do something wrong, you pay the consequences, no matter who you are,” she said.
Support for Prop. 36 among likely voters is high, with around 71 percent planning to vote in favor, while more than six in 10 say they will vote for Prop. 3.
Same-sex marriage has been legal in California for more than a decade, but proponents argue Prop. 3 is necessary to enshrine marriage rights, while opponents say it will lead to officiations of polygamy, pedophilia, and incest.
Voter ID Concerns
Several people said they were alarmed that no one asked for ID when they voted.Kate Intarachote, a resident of San Bernardino County who plans to vote later, drove an elderly friend to Norwalk to vote in person.
“You need an ID to drive, you need an ID to go to the bank, you need to show ID when you apply for a job—either your social security card of passport. But to vote, this is more important than all those things,” Intarachote said.
Daniela Rodriguez at the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk in Norwalk, Calif., on Oct. 7, 2024. (Sophie Li/The Epoch Times)
Daniela Rodriguez, 60, echoed the sentiment. “I felt very uncomfortable inside that they didn’t ask me for an ID. My husband wanted to show them an ID and they said ‘no.’ How do you know you’re a U.S. citizen?” she asked.
“I’m an immigrant,” she said, “but not asking for an ID when you vote—it’s a big problem.”
Governor Gavin Newsom late last month signed a law prohibiting local governments from requiring voters to show ID. Senate Bill 1174 arose in response to a local ballot measure, approved by voters in the city of Huntington Beach, that would require voters to show valid ID starting in 2026.
In April, California Attorney General Rob Bonta sued the city, alleging the new law conflicts with state law, and sought a permanent injunction to prevent Huntington Beach from implementing it.
According to SB 1174’s author, Dave Min (D-Irvine), an “overwhelming body of evidence proves that voter ID laws only subvert voter turnout and create barriers to law abiding voters.”
Critics of the law, including the Greater Bakersfield Republican Assembly, argued during a Senate hearing that the state law undermines confidence in “free and fair elections” and imposes the will of the state on local governments’ election processes.
According to the Secretary of State’s website, California voters are “in most cases” not required to show ID. First-time voters might be asked to show identification if they registered by mail and did not provide their drivers license number, California ID number, or the last four digits of their social security number. Identification can include utility bills or student ID cards, and those without ID are given a provisional ballot.
Residents visit the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk in Norwalk, Calif., on Oct. 7, 2024. (Sophie Li/The Epoch Times)
Voting machines at the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk in Norwalk, Calif., on Oct. 7, 2024. (Sophie Li/The Epoch Times)
Taxes and Rent Controls
High taxes were also a major concern.Intarachote, a resident of San Bernardino County, said she was worried about provisions like Prop. 33, a statewide measure that would allow local governments to expand rent control on residential property.
“I own rental properties and I keep my tenants safe—whatever it is I fix it. That’s my responsibility,” she said. “You can’t tell me, ‘you can pay $10,000 for air conditioning and you can’t raise the rent.’”
According to recent polling, likely voters favor Prop. 33 only by a thin margin, with 51 percent saying they’ll vote in favor and 46 percent planning to vote against it.
“I’m a Republican because we’re immigrants—we work hard. My mom brought me here with nothing, less than $400 and three teenagers,” said Intarachote, who was born in Thailand.
“The thing is, we made it,” she said. “My siblings have PhDs, I’m retired. We’re not rich but we’re upper middle class. Why do Americans hate rich people? They work so hard. Republican values have always been more attractive to me.”
Debbie Gardner also said she’d always been a Republican, but felt more strongly about this issues this year. “I’m so tired of being taxed up the wazoo—I just vote ‘no’ on anything that’s new spending. Because when you vote for something and they say, ‘oh, it’s for this,’ they never use it for what they tell you,” she said.
Gardner pointed to heated debates over how federal disaster relief dollars are being spent in response to Hurricane Helene, which has killed more than 230 people and devastated communities across the Southeast.
Michael Sidney (L) at the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk in Norwalk, Calif., on Oct. 7, 2024. (Sophie Li/The Epoch Times)
‘What Happens in the US Affects the Whole World’
Michael Sidney, 58, grew up in Carson but now lives in China for most of the year.“We’re going back soon, so when I heard about early voting, I don’t want to take a chance sitting at home mailing ballots—especially from China, you never know if it’s going to make it or not,” he said.
A lot of Americans forget, he said, that there are millions of U.S. citizens living abroad. “So whatever affects us here affects us there.”
Atop his list of issues was the high cost of housing, and Kamala Harris’ proposal to offer $25,000 to first-time homebuyers hits a sweet spot, as does her “positivity.”
Inflation is “huge” in California, if not quite as bad as it’s made to seem on the news and social media, Sidney said. “I’d like for people to be able to afford things—basic needs, then we’d definitely see crime come down.”
Sidney said he tries to convince Republican family members that they are voting against their own needs, and that Harris offers a message of unity.
“She wants to bring us together,” he said, suddenly overcome with emotion, thinking of our increasingly fractured society and the hope we might one day mend it.
“I want to see us all come together, all Americans work together. It doesn’t matter race or religion. That’s all second. We’re Americans first.”
Asked what the U.S. might offer him that China or other countries don’t, he said, “Being able to become anything in America. A child can grow up and influence our laws, run for senate or president. China doesn’t have that. We look at Kamala and we see that.”
Meanwhile, Gardner said her family members in Costa Rica are suffering because of U.S. policy decisions.
“What happens here affects other countries. I know my family has suffered because of the Biden Administration’s policies and they can’t stand him,” she said, pointing to increasing living costs and an influx of migration she attributes to U.S. border policy.
A voter places her ballot into a voting ballot drop box at the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk in Norwalk, Calif., on Oct. 7, 2024. (Sophie Li/The Epoch Times)
Sticker that read "I VOTED" in multiple languages at the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk in Norwalk, Calif., on Oct. 7, 2024. (Sophie Li/The Epoch Times)
“They hate the open borders, because Costa Rica is a small country, and now you have Colombians and Venezuelans going through because they want to come to this open border. It’s overpopulated, the country is not equipped to handle so many people, they don’t have the jobs, the infrastructure,” she said.
“And the policies this administration has—well, the president over there decides to adopt the same. You can’t do that. You cannot give money that you don’t have and let your people suffer.”
Rodriguez, who came with her husband to vote in person, did not disclose for whom she voted, but said she had switched to “independent” after being a registered Democrat for years.
“We have voted Democrat, we have voted Republican. We’re not going for parties anymore,” she said, noting concerns about energy, women’s rights, and abortion, and policies that would provide the best outcomes for herself as a business owner and her employees.
“It was a tough decision, a very tough decision,” she said of the presidential race.
“In our house, our kids are grown, and the four of us feel very different. In the past we disagreed. This is the first year all four of us are going for the same person.”
The last day to register to vote for the Nov. 5 General Election is Oct. 21, and county offices began mailing ballots to active registered voters on Oct. 7. Vote-by-mail ballots must be postmarked on or before Election Day and received by Nov. 12.
For more information about how and where to vote, visit www.sos.ca.gov/elections
