Considering how much Southern Californian’s love their automobile, it may be no surprise that a ballot dropbox at Wiseburn Library in Hawthorne was much busier Tuesday morning that the in-person polling location at Hollyglen Elementary School just next door.
A steady stream of voters drove by, mostly on their way to work, to drop their ballots in the bin. Still, several voters slowed down long enough to take photos and share their favorite candidates and most crucial election issues.
“Hopefully we see results, we want results,” said Raquel Rodriguez, 56, who dropped by with her mother. The governor’s race was top of mind, and she said she decided to vote for Xavier Becerra, though she considered Tom Steyer.
“Steyer has been up there — but he’s a billionaire,” Rodriguez said. “What he’s saying sounds really good but I don’t know whether I can trust where he’s coming from.”
The issues she’s most focused on? “Universal health care, homelessness, gas prices, the economy, wages, … it’s everything,” she said, laughing.
Over at the elementary school, Byron Davis waited for his sister-in-law outside after slapping on his “I voted” sticker.
“It was easy,” he said of in-person voting. “I did the QR code for the first time — smooth transaction.”
He said he was most interested in the outcome for governor, and had also decided to vote for Becerra, though his middle-school-aged kids had been pushing for Steyer. He didn’t want to get into the specifics, but said his sister — a lawyer —helped him decide.
“My family all together came out and we were all speaking about it,” Davis, 43, said. He said it felt like “the right call.”