City Heights is one of the San Diego County neighborhoods facing the biggest cuts in polling locations this election, according to an inewsource ZIP code analysis.
That’s why I decided to go to the Mid-City Gym in City Heights on Friday morning to capture the scene at this polling place where people can start voting in person at 8 a.m. on Saturday. What I found was a mix of veteran election workers and first-timers.
Don Bartolotta, the precinct inspector, has worked at elections since 2000 when Republican George W. Bush beat Democrat Al Gore in what is considered one of the nation’s closest presidential elections. Gore won the popular vote but lost when Bush prevailed in Electoral College votes — 271-266.
Seeing how few votes that election came down to, Bartolotta said, is what inspired him to do his part to contribute to the election process.
Justin Marks said he decided to become a poll worker for the first time after watching pleas from Trevor Noah on “The Daily Show” encouraging younger people to sign up as poll workers.
No matter their years of experience, all of the workers at the Mid-City Gym expressed enthusiasm for doing their part to make sure every vote gets counted in this election.
Polling locations are open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday through Monday, and 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday. You can look up the polling location nearest to you, by clicking here.
