In the Aftermath of an Election Day

Although it was probably a day late and a dollar short, thanks for your March 9 editorial (“Bigger Ideas for the Runoff”), which was essentially the L.A. mayor’s job description. Tuesday at the Westside precinct where I work as an election official, our turnout was just barely 16%! When I asked many of my nonvoting friends why they didn’t show up, their response was almost universal: “I don’t know what the mayor does, so how can I decide who to vote for?” or, “What’s the difference, the mayor is only a figurehead anyway.” Your editorial spelled out the mayor’s duties somewhat, and I’m quite sure that a more informed electorate will show up in far greater numbers for the runoff.

Joel Rapp

Los Angeles

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Re “Runoff Will Be Tougher,” news analysis, March 9: In claiming that one of Antonio Villaraigosa’s obstacles to overcome is his “liberal image,” The Times plays into the hands of the far right. There is nothing wrong and everything right with being liberal. We have Social Security, Medicare, environmental and consumer protections and the Civil Rights Act of 1964 because of liberals. Don’t disparage the lovely L word!

Paula Berinstein

Thousand Oaks

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The change in precinct boundaries in our area has been a voting disaster. This polling station and its neighborhood have been assigned to vote at another location. The absurdity of this played itself out in a scenario of voters going to another neighborhood to vote while voters in this precinct were having to pass other voting stations to reach this one. Angry voters left for work without time to find new voting locations. The purpose of placing polling stations is to make it easy for voters to vote in their own neighborhoods, not to make voting difficult. This is how we make democracy work.

John Maddox

Inspector

Precinct 900-6233A13125

Granada Hills

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A mayoral runoff highlights why Los Angeles County needs “instant runoff voting” for its elections. Instead of spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on a second mayoral campaign, including the huge cost in city funds to hold a second election, L.A. citizens could know who their new mayor is this morning. The concept is simplicity itself: Vote for your top choice -- and a second and third choice if your top choice would not be in the runoff election. If your first-choice candidate does not get enough votes for the runoff, then your second-choice vote is counted, and so on, until a clear winner is found in one cheaper, quicker election.

Roger H. Gray

Pasadena

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Folks are complaining (as folks have a tendency to do) about school closures, limited police services, emergency room closures, etc. Makes me wonder if these are the same folks who voted for Arnold.

T. H. Ferraro

Campbell