Copyright Santa Clarita Valley Signal
Santa Clarita Valley residents were seen heading to the voting centers around the valley for the special election regarding Proposition 50 on Tuesday, with apparent levels of voter traffic varying from one vote center to another. Prop. 50 — the only item on Tuesday’s statewide ballot — is a measure that authorizes temporary changes to California’s congressional district maps in response to Texas’ partisan redistricting, according to the California Voter Guide website. College of the Canyons had its voting center in Halsey Hall boardroom 137, where foot traffic was slow during the morning. However, the vote center at Grace Baptist Church had a line out of the door near the church’s junior high room with eager voters dropping in their ballots or casting them at a voting machine. Matt Morgenstern, a member of the Republican Party, voted no on Prop. 50 because he felt the measure was an “anti-Trump ballot.” “And I feel that this is just another part of the left’s agenda to get back at the right side and find a way to possibly rig an election in the future, which I disagree with,” Morgenstern said. Morgenstern added that he usually votes by mail-in ballot but went to COC’s voting center for the first time this election. “It was interesting because there are multiple layers to it, but I think it was a cool experience to go through, and it just goes to show that there are many ways to vote, and there should be no excuse not to do it,” Morgenstern said. Amber Griffith, who is also a Republican, said it is important to vote to be a part of a larger conversation. “I personally feel that if you’re not adding your right to vote, that you don’t really have like the right to speak on issues for me personally. That’s just how I feel,” Griffith said. “And I think it’s important to be able to have conversations and discuss, oh, ‘I chose this because of this’ and ‘I want to understand why you chose this because of this.’” Griffith, who went to the vote center with Morgenstern, said she mailed in her ballot and voted no on Prop. 50 because it tips the scale and makes it harder for Republicans to get their voice out. Emily Miramontes, who is registered as a Democrat, went to Grace Baptist with her family to vote. Miramontes said she voted yes on Prop. 50 because she believes redistricting California will help the current situation in the United States. Miramontes added that people should all be allowed to share their opinions and use resources like voting to help better the political environment. “For example, me, I have kids. I want their future to be better. I want them to see the country in a good standing. Just like how I did when I was growing up, you know,” Miramontes said. She added that being informed about what people are voting for is important because they should know why they are voting for certain measures. “For me, I think it’s important because we see different perspectives and why people, some people, are voting no, why some people are voting yes,” Miramontes said. “So, I think it’s important to have those conversations so we could all be able to put in our input and see the different situations that everyone’s in because everyone’s in a different situation.” Brian Crawford brought his mail-in ballot to drop it off at Grace Baptist and said he used to vote non-partisan before the last election, when he became part of the Republican Party. Crawford said that he enjoys the privacy of voting. “I think that I value the privacy of voting, and that’s a civic virtue that was instilled in me by a high school teacher,” Crawford said. He added that discussing issues like Prop. 50 with voters is an opportunity for them to have their voices heard and that it is worth the effort to have special elections. Crawford said he believes it is important to have all ages at the voting centers because of their impact. “Getting all ages out is important for the vote, and it’s something that can really fly under the radar when we wrestle with the decisions that are made about how our country is run and why those decisions are the way that they are,” Crawford said. “The voting demographics play a big factor there. And I think the recognition that certain age groups tend to have a greater voter turnout than others is starting to become more widely known, and I think impacting future voter turnout.”
