LA County to launch new voting system for March primary

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Los Angeles County voters will see some changes at the voting booth in the March 2020 primary election.

There will be new machines and a new process.

For the March primary, traditional polling places in the county will be gone and in-person voting will feature touchscreen tablets.

Where you vote is also going to change. Instead of more than 4,000 designated locations, you will choose from 1,000 vote centers.

"Meaning that you can go to some place close to work, some place close to where you drop your kids off at school, some place close to the gym where you go after work," said Dean C. Logan, who oversees the L.A. County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk.

You can fill out a sample ballot online and get a QR code or poll pass.

Keep in mind, your information is not saved online. Vote centers will open for 11 days, including Election Day. Once you're checked in through an electronic poll book -- no more paper rolls -- you fill out your ballot from scratch or scan the code on your phone or paper and make any changes.

While you are making your selections on a tablet, it's not connected to the internet or any network, and you must still submit a paper ballot.

The booths are accessible for voters with disabilities.

You can suspend your vote by mail ballot and vote in person if you'd like. But if you want to fill out a ballot only on paper, you have to vote by mail.

And about those QR codes, you may be wondering if you can share them, or if political parties can send you one in the mail.

Technically, it is possible but you have to review your selections before casting a ballot.

The county is encouraging people to fill out their own.

To spread the word about the new voting system, there will be a mock vote weekend using non-political questions, and featuring food trucks, music, and celebrity guests.

It will take place at 50 locations across L.A. County on Sept. 28 and 29.

For details you can visit lavote.net/mock-election