Mail-in ballots for the Boyle Heights Neighborhood Council election are due Tuesday.
The biennial election season is more restrictive this year with ballots only being accepted through the mail or at specified drop boxes in the Eastside. There will be no physical polling places this election season due to a lack of funds.
While the deadline to request a ballot passed on April 28, voters have until Tuesday to postmark ballots or drop them off in a ballot box. Boyle Heights’ ballot box is inside the Robert Louis Stevenson Branch Library on Spence Street.
The election comes at a time of record-low voter engagement.
According to a report by LAist, Los Angeles neighborhood council elections this year are on track to see their lowest voter turnout in years. A review of results from the first round of elections shows a 37% drop from the 2023 elections, and 77% from 2021.
Neighborhood council members told LAist they believe the decline is due to in-person voting being cut from the election administration budget this year.
In 2021, only 84 votes were cast for the Boyle Heights Neighborhood Council elections, compared to the 177 submitted in 2019, according to L.A. City Clerk data. The council did not have an election in 2023.
A total of 148 ballots were requested for the election, according to the L.A. City Clerk’s office.
Neighborhood councils don’t have the power to write laws or introduce motions, but they serve as direct representatives to their communities and often relay issues and concerns directly to their elected officials on the city council.
In addition, neighborhood council boards receive annual budgets funded by taxpayer dollars, which can be used to address critical issues and support local organizations.
The people running for neighborhood council board seats this year are the following:
- Area 1 Seat Candidates
- Chichi Navarro
- Ana Donayre Alvarez
- Area 2 Seat Candidate
- Alfredo “Chunks” Holguin
- Area 3 Seat Candidates
- Steven Lopez-Deler
- Israel Navarro
- Area 4 Seat Candidate
- Jazmin Ronquillo
- Community Seat
- Margarita Mago Amador
- Wendy Castro
- Elias Naranjo
- Sylvia Delgado
- Shmuel Gonzales
- Kathy Lopez
- Vivian M. Escalante
- Christian Mejía
- Jacqueline Lyon
- Andrew Marquez
- Adriana Howard
- Aracelly Cauich
- Tomasa Martinez
- Tania Ramon
- Community Interest Seat
- Irma Mejia
- Andrea Mendoza Aguila
- Youth Seat
- Ashley Lares
Other local boards with open elections include the neighborhoods of Arroyo Seco, Eagle Rock, Glassell Park, Cypress Park, Hermon, Highland Park, and Lincoln Heights.
Editor’s Note: This article was updated on May 7, 2025 to correct the number of ballots requested.
