My 2020 Voting Guide

 Here is how I'm voting in 2020:

I've received my ballot in the mail and completed it, then I've dropped it off at a Ballot Drop Box. You can find it at: 

https://www.lavote.net/home/voting-elections/voting-options/vote-by-mail/vbm-ballot-drop-off

Then, I will sign up for SMS updates on my ballot to confirm receipt:

www.lavote.net/av_inquiry

My votes:

Note: I'm not in city council district 4, so I can't vote for Nithya Raman, but if you are, DO. I strongly support her. I also strongly support Measure J. It's a vitally important reimagining of public safety that meets the demands of our time.

Item	Choice	Difficulty	Reasons
City of Los Angeles
District 10	Mark Ridley-Thomas	Difficult	Ridley-Thomas has been in charge for a long time while homelessness, housing shortages, and poor policing have worsened. Ridley-Thomas holds better positions than Yoo, and has been more forthright about them.
Board of Trustees, Seat 1	Andra Hoffman	Easy	DSA-Endorsed
Board of Trustees, Seat 3	David Vela	Easy	DSA-Endorsed
Board of Trustees, Seat 5	Nichelle M. Henderson	Easy	DSA-Endorsed
Board of Trustees, Seat 7	Mike Fong	Easy	DSA-Endorsed
Board of Education 3	Scott Schmerelson	Easy	DSA-Endorsed
Board of Education 7	Patricia Castellanos	Easy	DSA-Endorsed
State Assembly	Tracy Bernard Jones	Easy	Tracy Bernard Jones is a standard Democratic Socialist with the right positions. The incumbant, Kamlager has capitulated on progressive causes.
Congressional District 37	Karen Bass	Easy	Bass is a very above-average representative. She's made mistakes (particuarly SESTA/FOSTA) but is overall a force for positive change.
LA School Distirict Measure RR	Yes	Easy	Our schools are literally our most valuable investment.
County
2nd District Supervisor	Herb J. Wesson	Difficult	Like Ridley-Thomas, with whom Wesson is swapping due to term limits, the results of Wesson's long tenure are damning. But his stated policies are strong. All of this can be said about State Senator Holly Mitchell too. DSA endorses Mitchell, but I'm following the endorsement of Melina Abdullah of BLM-LA.
DA	George Gascon	Easy	Gascon is a reformer, Lacey is standing in the way of reform.
Judge No. 72	Myanna Dellinger	Easy	DSA-Endrosed
Judge No. 80	Klint James McKay	Easy	DSA-Endrosed
Judge No. 162	David D. Diamond	Easy	A professor and sometimes defender running against a prosecutor
Measure J - Alternatives to Incarceration	YES!	Easy	Measure J is a bold committment of the county budget to social programs and deserves full support.
Propositions
14 - Stem cell research funding	No	Some	It's a worthwhile use of money, but the organizing structure may have outlived its usefulness. It's complicated.
15 - Constitutional Tax Amendment	YES!	Easy	This is a huge transfer of money from the wealthy and corporations into the most important state resource: education.
16 - Affirmative Action	YES!	Easy	Conservative California barred consideration of race in 1992 in hiring and education. This would repeal an outdated impediment against common modern practices.
17 - Reenfranchizement	YES!	Easy	Let more Californians vote. Duh.
18 - Enfranchising 17 year-olds	Yes	Easy	Let more Californians vote. Duh.
19 - Property Tax Rules	No	Easy	This is one of those sneaky ones. It's bad.
20 - Parole Restriction	No	Easy	This is an attempt to repeal recent progressive reforms to end cash bail and pretrial detention of non-violent offenders. Vote no.
21 - Rent Control	Yes	Easy	This expands areas allowed to rent control property. It's complicated, but not that complicated: rent control protects current tenants.
22 - Uber AB5 freakout	No	Easy	California's biggest employers spent $181 MILLION dollars trying to limit worker rights.
23 - Dialysis clinic requirements	Yes	Easy	Regulates under-regulated dialysis clinics
24 - Consumer Privacy	Yes	Difficult	This is a good idea, although it's widely seen as a little under-developed, which is why some want to wait. Andrew Yang, Ro Khanna, and the NAACP support it, so I am too.
25 - Cash Bail Referendum	No	Easy	This weakens recent criminal justice reforms.
National
President	Joe Biden and Kamala Harris	Easy

Here's the DSA's voter guide, which include great explanations for each vote. Also, here is the LA Times voter guide, which frankly I didn't consult, but others might find useful.