After Investigation Flags Voter Access Issue, Los Angeles County Adds Locations

Local journalism helped double the number of voting locations in a Los Angeles suburb.

Less than a week before Election Day, an analysis of county voter data by ABC7 found that Huntington Park was set to have less than one polling location per 10,000 voters while surrounding communities like Beverly Hills and Bell had more than one per 10,000.

“This is what voter suppression looks like. And it’s unfortunate, and it’s heartbreaking that nobody’s talking about it,” vice mayor Graciela Ortiz said.

The two planned locations for Tuesday were half of the number that were available in the March primary, when the vice mayor said some local residents waited about four hours to vote despite the COVID-19 related health dangers.

At first, county election officials told ABC7 that open voting allowed Huntington Park residents to drive to voting sites in other towns. But the vice mayor pushed back, noting that many of her community’s residents didn’t have the luxury of owning a car. Huntington Park is a 97 percent Hispanic community with a median income that is just above half of the statewide median.

Thursday evening — a day after the ABC story — L.A. County Supervisor Hilda Solis and county officials announced a turnaround.

They will add two additional voting locations on election day in the city of nearly 60,000 people – still less than some surrounding areas, but an improvement for voters.

The two extra mobile voting locations will be at a park and a middle school on Tuesday.