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Conscious Abstention is a Vote Too

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“So long as the political and economic system remains intact, voter enfranchisement, though perhaps resisted by overt white supremacists, is still welcomed so long as nothing about the overall political arrangement fundamentally changes. The facade of political equality can occur under violent occupation, but liberation cannot be found in the occupier’s ballot box. In the context of settler colonialism voting is the “civic duty” of maintaining our own oppression. It is intrinsically bound to a strategy of extinguishing our cultural identities and autonomy.”

J.T.

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L.A. County, here are the official measures proposed on our ballot this June 2026

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According to L.A. County’s Measure 1, it might be time to dig deep into our wallets for another tax to stave off insolvency for some of our most critical public services and facilities.

There are also 25 more propositions on the table, the lot of them having to do with new sales taxes, which is and isn’t surprising given L.A. County’s umbrella status for 87 different cities other than Los Angeles itself.

The voters will decide. But as the old saying goes, “to be forewarned is to be forearmed.”

Source: Current and Upcoming Elections, Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk

J.T.

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Stop this war? In 2026, the Houses of Congress are scheduled for just 119 and 158 days, respectively

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The 2026 Congressional schedule for the second session of the 119th Congress, per the BGR Group.

Per Steve Scalisi, the majority leader for the U.S. House of Representatives, for the 2026 calendar year the House of Representatives is scheduled to be in session for 119 days.

Per John Barrasso and Dick Durbin, respective whips of each party in the Senate, the Senate is scheduled to be in session for approximately 158 days.

Start down the rabbit hole for your congressional representatives HERE.

J.T.

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Last Minute Reminders about Voting

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With only seven days to go before Election Day, according to California’s Secretary of State, as of Monday, February 26th, at least 5.7 million Vote By Mail ballots have reached voters’ mailboxes in Los Angeles County. Out of this bunch, some 311,853 ballots, or 5% of all ballots mailed, have been returned. For the 95% of the rest of you, then, here are just a handful of brief reminders from the L.A. County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk’s office.

On Your Ballot

  • You do not have to vote in every race.
  • Vote-by-mail ballots can be returned by mail, at a drop-off location, or your county elections office.
  • Vote centers open for early in-person voting in all Voter’s Choice Act counties (which applies to L.A. County) beginning on February 24, 2024.
  • Vote-by-mail ballots must be postmarked on or before Election Day and received by March 12, 2024.

Write-In Candidates

  • A voter is entitled to cast a vote for a qualified write-in candidate for any party-nominated, voter-nominated, or nonpartisan office by writing, on the write-in portion of the ballot, the name of the qualified candidate.
  • To add a candidate, fill in the circle to the left of “Write-In Candidate” and write the name on the dotted line.
  • A list of qualified write-in candidates is available eleven days before the election here.

Additional Note On Last Minute Voting

  • Here’s an example to consider. If you’re registered with California’s Democratic Party, but between now and Election Day on March 5th, you have a change of heart regarding your choice for the Presidency and actually want to vote for say, Claudia De La Cruz, of the Peace and Freedom Party. Can you can write her name on the dotted line below the “Write-In Candidate” bubble on your Vote by Mail ballot and have that counted as an official vote for De La Cruz? NO, YOU CANNOT. However, you can still manage to vote for De La Cruz under Conditional Voter Registration (CVR).
  • Find De La Cruz’s name and other Qualified Candidates whose names will appear on L.A. County ballots, including for the presidential race and more here.

Conditional Voter Registration

From the L.A. County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk’s Office:

  • Any eligible voter can go to any Vote Center in the County during the 11-day voting period.
  • Once at the Vote Center, the eligible voter [can] complete the CVR application.
  • The voter is then issued a CVR ballot to take to the new fully accessible Ballot Marking Device (like a voting iPad).
  • The voter’s experience reading and marking their ballot will be the same, however after the voter prints their paper ballot they will be instructed to return their paper ballot to an Election Worker.
  • As soon as the CVR application is verified, their ballot will be counted and the registration will become active.
  • The voter may then vote in any future election in which they are eligible to participate.

Tracking Your Vote

  • After submitting your vote, you can sign up to know the status of your ballot on the California Secretary of State’s part here.

For other questions, comments, or concerns, you can reach out to your local Vote Center, which should have more specific details on any of these particulars.

Otherwise, happy voting, Los Angeles!

J.T.