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THE WESTSIDE - In wake of the historically low participation rate by Venetians in the recently completed Venice Neighborhood Council elections that had no in-person or same day voting, the current board sent a brief acommunity survey asking how and why stakeholders opted to cast votes.
With 1,128 stakeholders requesting ballots and an anemic 465 actually voting, the VNC is being pro-active in getting to the heart of the matter which is why was there no same-day or in-person option, and how seamless was the actual voting process and who took the time to register for a ballot.
And why are city agencies such as Empower LA praising a process that by any electoral standard was a miserable failure?
Several residents contacted Yo! Venice complaining about never receiving any information about the election, to being unable to register online, to registering online and never receiving a ballot!
Despite the VNV expending some $7,200 promoting the registration process, 25,000 postcards mailed, 12,000 texts sent to 8,000 residents and stakeholders, 5,000 mailers sent by one slate of preferred candidates, tabling and door-knocking, we saw yet another steep decline in participation of nearly 50% which leads to one question, what is the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment (DONE) doing to save this grass roots democracy from extinction?
Even a YOUTUBE video that was supposed to make the voting process seamless, only confirmed how just how confusing it was for stakeholders!
Most importantly, why did the LA City Clerk's Office refuse to mail every Venice stakeholder or registered voter a ballot and let those who are not registered apply for a ballot online?
Instead of having thousands of Venetians participate if the election wasn't so mismanaged, you have a city chartered municipal body that saw individuals elected with just six (6) votes!
One former VNC candidate commented that the whole process was "not a good faith effort in election administration," and described the process of voting "harder to vote for neighborhood council than it is for President of the United States."
In effect, with 34,000 residents, Venice is now part of what was best described as the "1% turnout club with the rest of the neighborhood councils."
(Nick Antonicello is a thirty-two-year resident of Venice who exclusively covers the deliberations of the Venice Neighborhood Council and serves as a member of the Oceanfront Walk Committee. Have a take or tip on all things Venice? Contact him online at [email protected])
