'Heavy' Morning Turnout Reported at Polls

The Westwood Neighborhood Council election got off to a busy start Sunday morning, as dozens of voters showed up to cast their ballots within the first half-hour.

Between 50 and 60 voters arrived at the polls soon after they opened at 9 a.m., poll manager and West Los Angeles Neighborhood Council chairperson Jay Handal said.

"There's a lot of people who obviously care," he said about the early turnout.

The polls will remain open until 3 p.m. at the Westwood Recreation Center, 1350 South Sepulveda Blvd.

More than 30 candidates are running to fill spots on the 19-seat board. View a complete list of the candidates here. To read articles in a series of profiles on the candidates, click here.

George Torbay, outgoing Westwood Neighborhood Council member, said the council's "great" outreach program contributed to the amount of candidates.

"I think we have something to do with there being more candidates," he said.

Poll volunteers reported no problems with the voting process early in the day.

"It seems like it's very organized," poll volunteer Tricia Grace said. "[It's] very well put together."

Voters were asked to fill out a new questionnaire before casting their ballots, which asked for feedback on the election process, outreach and important neighborhood council issues.

Westwood resident Nancy Chakravarty said the voting process was confusing and complained about the lack of available parking near the recreation center.

Once the polls close at 3 p.m., volunteers will likely begin to sort and count the votes, Handal said. He aims to have a preliminary count posted by the end of the day.

Follow Westwood-Century City Patch throughout the day for complete coverage of the election and results.

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