Meeting_Body
EXECUTIVE MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE
OCTOBER 18, 2018
Preamble
Motion by:
GARCETTI, KUEHL, RIDLEY-THOMAS, AND GARCIA
Item 40: Free Transit Service on Election Day
MTA should help reduce the barriers to voting for the individuals that rely on MTA for mobility. In the June 2018 primary election, Los Angeles County saw a voter turnout of just 28%, which is the second lowest of the 47 California counties that reported. Additionally, studies have shown that minority, low-income, persons with disabilities, and youth voters in particular have consistently lower turnout than average. These populations are also the ones most reliant on MTA for mobility.
Voters cannot reach polls without adequate means of transportation. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s 2016 Survey of the Performance of American Elections (SPAE) found that approximately 30% of nonvoters across the country claimed that the lack of transportation to the polls was a factor for not voting. In California, that number rose to 51%.
Additionally, SPAE and similar studies showed that lack of access to transportation to get to polls disproportionally affects minority, low-income, persons with disabilities, and youth voters. For example, over 50% of non-voters said that a disability or illness was a factor in deciding not to vote and turnout for persons with disabilities has been declining.
To encourage voter turnout, transit operators across the country provide free public transportation on Election Day. Larger cities include Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, Tampa, Kansas City, and Durham. In Minnesota, public transportation agencies are required by law to provide free rides on Election Day. The number of transit operators taking this approach continues to grow, and MTA should ensure that it does not fall behind.
Subject
SUBJECT: FREE TRANSIT SERVICE ON ELECTION DAY
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RECOMMENDATION
Title
APPROVE MOTION by Garcetti, Kuehl, Ridley-Thomas and Garcia that the Board direct the CEO to:
A. provide transit services free of fare on the November 6, 2018 election day;
B. partner with Access Services to examine providing enhanced and/or reduced-fare services on the November 6, 2018 election day; and
C. in consultation with the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk, report back to the Board by the February 2019 cycle on whether or not to make free transit permanent on federal and statewide election days.