Santa Monica Council Candidates Report Voting Problems On Election Day

SANTA MONICA, CA — A Santa Monica City Council candidate says he was turned away from a local voting center Tuesday and instructed to travel approximately 35 miles to Norwalk to cast his ballot in person, an experience that has since attracted widespread attention on social media.

Derrick Townsend, one of 12 candidates competing for three seats on the City Council, told Patch that election workers at Reed Park were unable to process his registration and failed to offer him a provisional ballot, despite his requests for assistance.

The difficulties appear to stem from a state law that keeps political candidates' voter registration information confidential, creating complications when election workers attempt to verify their eligibility through the usual system.

Fellow candidate Lana Negrete independently confirmed encountering similar difficulties, although she was ultimately able to cast a provisional ballot.

The incidents have raised questions about how Los Angeles County election workers are handling those confidentiality protections — an issue that also caused confusion during California's June primary election.

Townsend's account, posted on X at 10:40 a.m. Tuesday, had attracted more than 70,000 views by late afternoon, while a video describing his experience had received approximately 130,000 views on Instagram.

"Denied my right to vote locally," Townsend wrote. "I showed up to vote today. I'm a candidate on the ballot. They told me I had to drive to Norwalk to vote in person."

A Candidate Turned Away

In a telephone interview with Patch on Tuesday afternoon, Townsend explained that he had anticipated some difficulty accessing his registration because of confidentiality protections afforded to political candidates. However, he said election workers appeared unfamiliar with the procedures necessary to accommodate him.

After his voting information could not be processed through the regular system, Townsend said he asked workers to check the separate registration records used for candidates whose information is confidential. When they were unable to help, he requested assistance from a supervisor and subsequently spoke with someone identified to him as an LA County troubleshooter.

According to Townsend, neither was able to resolve the problem, and he was instead instructed to travel to the county Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk's headquarters in Norwalk.

He said he was never offered a provisional ballot.

"I don't think it was anything nefarious," Townsend told Patch. "I think it's just a pure lack of education or a lack of the people at the polls actually understanding."

Townsend said he had deliberately chosen to vote in person because this was his first campaign for public office and he wanted to experience Election Day as a candidate. Rather than make the trip to Norwalk, he returned home, completed his vote-by-mail ballot and deposited it in an official ballot drop box.

He emphasized that his complaint was not an allegation of election fraud but a concern about whether election workers were adequately prepared to assist voters whose registrations required special handling. A second Santa Monica council candidate, Negrete, told Patch she had encountered similar information suggesting that candidates were required to vote by mail or travel to Norwalk to vote in person.

However, unlike Townsend, she said she ultimately received a provisional ballot.

Similar Problems Surfaced In June

The difficulties appear to resemble those reported during California's June 2 primary election, when several candidates discovered that their names were not appearing on voter registration lists accessible to election workers. The Los Angeles Times reported that Los Angeles City Controller Kenneth Mejia, City Council candidate Maria Lou Calanche and Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez were among the candidates affected.

The confusion was linked to Assembly Bill 1392, legislation enacted in 2025 that established additional confidentiality protections for the voter registration information of elected officials and political candidates. Under the law, certain registration information is withheld from voter lists and records ordinarily available to election workers and others, unless an affected candidate or official opts out of the confidentiality protections.

The measure was intended to improve the personal safety of candidates and elected officials, but its implementation has also created complications for some candidates attempting to vote in person. The Times reported in June that county election officials had acknowledged the difficulties, explaining that candidates whose registrations were confidential could vote by mail or use provisional ballots.

Tuesday's accounts from Townsend and Negrete raise questions about whether those procedures were consistently understood and applied at voting centers five months later.

What California Law Says

Under California Elections Code Section 14310, voters who claim to be properly registered but whose eligibility cannot immediately be established are entitled to cast provisional ballots. The law requires election officials to advise such voters of that right and provide the necessary ballot and instructions.

The California Secretary of State's provisional voting guidance similarly explains that voters whose names do not appear on registration lists may cast provisional ballots, subject to subsequent verification of their eligibility. Los Angeles County's own voting instructions state that provisional ballots may be cast at any vote center within the county where a voter is registered.

Those ballots are counted after election officials confirm the voter's registration and establish that another ballot has not already been counted for that person. The published guidance supports the availability of provisional voting when registration information cannot immediately be verified, although the county has not yet explained how its procedures were applied in Townsend's case.

Patch contacted the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk's office Tuesday seeking clarification about the incidents, the procedures applicable to candidates with confidential registrations and whether additional training had been provided following the June primary.

The office had not responded at the time of publication.

Meanwhile, Townsend said his experience should serve as a reminder that election workers need to understand the rules governing all eligible voters, including those whose registrations are subject to confidentiality protections. Despite his frustration, he encouraged others to participate in the election.

"I'm still voting," he wrote in his widely shared post. "You should too."

Polls across Los Angeles County remain open until 8 p.m. Tuesday. Voters can find their nearest voting center through the county's official election locator.

Related:

• Santa Monica Voter Guide: Everything You Need To Know
• City Council Candidate Spotlight: Ericka Lesley
• City Council Candidate Spotlight: Derrick Townsend
• City Council Candidate Spotlight: Ashley Oelsen
• City Council Candidate Spotlight: Phil Brock
• City Council Candidate Spotlight: Lana Negrete
• City Council Candidate Spotlight: Caroline Torosis
• City Council Candidate Spotlight: Doug Trussler
• City Council Candidate Spotlight: Lindsay Davis
• City Council Candidate Spotlight: Eli Gill
• City Council Candidate Spotlight: Wade Kelley
• City Council Candidate Spotlight: Brett Morrow
• City Council Candidate Spotlight: Danny Ivanov