Election 2020: Voters Cast Ballots In 25th Congressional District Runoff

SANTA CLARITA (CBSLA) — In the battle for the 25th District, Democrat Christy Smith and Republican Mike Garcia are going head-to-head in the special runoff election.

But this election looks a little different due to the coronavirus pandemic, and though it has been declared a vote-by-mail election, there are still options for people to cast their ballot in person.

"It is very weird," voter Martha Gaitan-Allen said. "I'm the only one here."

The pop-up voting location in Santa Clarita is one of nine sites across Los Angeles County, and was a welcome site to Gaitan-Allen who lives in the city.

"I was kind of worried at first, because they were pushing the mail-in vote, and I did not want to do that," she said. "And then I found out we can vote physically."

But, as with all situations that bring people together, voters must follow appropriate safety precautions, such as maintaining appropriate distance between one another.

"I wore my mask and my wife voted yesterday, so she told me it was pretty easy and did the hand sanitizer right after we got done," another voter said. "And they wiped things down pretty good."

And for those who don't want to get out of the car or are unable to, a curbside voting option is available.

"Our workers are wearing personal protective equipment," Los Angeles County Registrar Dean Logan said. "After each use of the equipment, it's wiped down, disinfected and then on an hourly basis we do a full cleaning of the entire operation."

Logan said this would be the new normal for the foreseeable future.

"This model that you are seeing in the 25th Congressional District is actually going to be the way that the November election is conducted," he said. "Every voter will receive a ballot in the mail, but we will also have these in-person vote centers available."

A complete list of polling locations for Los Angeles County and Ventura County can be found online.