It’s a balmy 70º Southern California winter morning, and I’m standing in front of a voting machine in Boyle Heights, Los Angeles.
I’m not skipping class – in fact, I’m attending it.
This past winter term, I enrolled in a political science course led by Prof. Mike Alvarez focused on public policy. It was the inaugural offering of this course, which meant that I, along with the three other students, had a unique opportunity to shape its structure. You may not have known, but Caltech has an amazing social science department!
Throughout the term, we delved into various policies, dissecting their far-reaching impacts on the economy, governance, and our personal lives. From climate policy to the CHIPS and Science Act to affordable housing, each week, one of us would present background readings and lead the class in a roundtable discussion. With each student bringing distinct interests to the table, the class became a dynamic forum where I was exposed to new perspectives and ideas.
I’m interested in the intersection of economics and politics, which led me to examine the economic effects of the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). During the class, one of my favorite radio shows, Marketplace, had recently aired a segment on how the bill’s funds were being allocated in Las Vegas, which sparked my curiosity in the topic. For me, the interplay between top-down and bottom-up effects of infrastructure bills underscores the profound influence of legislative action on both local economies and broader national development. Every time you complain about potholes or the lack of bike lanes in your city—there’s an infrastructure (or lack thereof infrastructure) discussion waiting to be had!
One of the highlights of the course was a visit to the City Clerk’s office at Pasadena City Hall, where we got a firsthand look into the intricacies of local government. We had the opportunity to talk with the City Clerk and learned about how city administrators develop and implement policies, including the logistics of vote-by-mail elections and the process citizens must navigate to become official candidates. I didn’t know that in Pasadena, the City Clerk, City Manager, and City Attorney carry out most of the day-to-day duties of the government, while the Mayor is actually a part-time employee! When Pasadena was founded, the idea was that the mayor was supposed to be an everyday person, not a career politician. A novel idea!
We got to see the Mayor’s office and the “documents room” – a dark and packed vault full of historical documents! Despite growing up in Pasadena, I had never ventured inside the city hall buildings—though I did take my high school graduation photos there—so it was fascinating to tour the interior of the various offices within the City Hall complex.
Another highlight of the course was our in-the-field observations of polling sites the day before the March 5th Primary Election. In Los Angeles County, early voting allows voters to cast their ballots in-person up to 10 days before the election and at a ballot box or by mail up to 28 days before. We visited five different polling places across Los Angeles in Boyle Heights, Glendale, and three locations in Pasadena. At each site, we observed the setup, the ballot processing procedure, and had the opportunity to speak with polling site managers about the challenges and successes they experienced.
From college campus polling places with sparse foot traffic (a stark reminder that college students need to vote!) to churches that had to manage surges in voters after Sunday mass, it became clear that the voting process not only needed to be robust in ensuring voter integrity but also adaptable to the varying circumstances and voter demographics across different locations.
With the 2024 General Election approaching (67 days to go!), Prof. Alvarez is offering a new course this fall focused on the upcoming election and intricacies of the election process. I’m excited to dive even deeper into the electoral system, especially with the stakes being so high this time around. The course promises to cover everything from campaign strategies and voter behavior to the mechanics of election administration.
Given how much I learned in the last class, it will be interesting to explore how these dynamics play out in real-time as the election unfolds!
