Voters in one Los Angeles district could win $25,000 if they cast ballots in an upcoming school board election. But is that a “winning idea”?
The so-called “votería” is part of an initiative from the Southwest Voter Registration Education Project in California to boost voter turnout at local elections, which have been at an “all-time low,” according to Mario Solis-Marich, the spokesperson for the organization behind the votería.
“It’s an important election for the future,” Solis-Marich told José Díaz-Balart on msnbc Wednesday, “not only for the kids in Los Angeles, but throughout the country because of the economic impact that Los Angeles has. 11% of people usually participate in this election. [The votería] may bring [that number] up.”
But the votería is not without criticism. An LA TImes editorial recently questioned the initiative’s “integrity of the democratic process,” which Solis-Marich responded: “This is not a bribe. This is a contest.”
The votería will begin during the Los Angeles Board of Education District 5 race on May 19. Once the election results are certified, the Southwest Voter Registraction Education Project will announce a winner.
What do you think about the votería? Let us know in the comments, or weigh in on Facebook or Twitter.
Nicole Acevedo
I am a bilingual national reporter specializing in issues affecting Latino communities in the U.S., the Caribbean and Latin America. Experience I have produced hundreds of stories across digital, radio and broadcast platforms throughout my career — reporting on everything from elections, natural disasters and immigration to pop culture trends, social justice issues and breaking news. I'm best known for my coverage of the crises affecting Puerto Rico, including its reconstruction process after Hurricane Maria, the island’s financial crisis and more. After graduating from the Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University with a bachelor's degree in broadcast and digital journalism in 2016, I joined the inaugural cohort of students who helped launch the Spanish-language bilingual journalism master’s program at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY. Awards I was a 2024 finalist for the NAHJ/University of Florida award in investigative journalism for my reporting uncovering the challenges Puerto Rican families face in caring for their elders, given that the island’s population is aging faster than most places on Earth and fragmented by migration. I served as the lead reporter and writer of NBC News' 2022 Hispanic Heritage Month project “Who’s Latino? Amid growing numbers the definition is expanding,” which was awarded an NAHJ Ñ Award for best Latino issues story for print/digital.