Parents in Los Angeles don't have to let the cost of child care keep them from voting in person on Tuesday — especially since the future of child care funding is at stake.
Olympic star Allyson Felix is partnering with national and local nonprofits, including the Chamber of Mothers' Vote Like a Mother project, to provide free childcare for parents on Election Day.
In LA, Brella, a daycare center with three locations, offers a free full day of childcare so parents can go to the polls. And Bumo, an online marketplace with hundreds of partner daycares throughout Southern California, is giving away $10,000 in daycare services that parents can access with the code “VOTE” at checkout.
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Election day childcare options can be found through Politisit, a national nonprofit that has been providing free childcare to voters since 2020, with drop-in locations across the country. By 2022, the group has provided families with more than 1,000 hours of free childcare.
Free childcare options can also be found on the electiondaychildcare.com website.
“Having small children fighting in crowded, long lines is not an easy thing,” said Emily Teixeira, executive director of Politisit. “In some places, the polling stations are in places that are difficult to get to, or you have to stand in line next to a busy road, and it is not accessible to working families who have to decide whether to vote. send their children to daycare or vote because they can't do both.”
Bumo, which has primarily helped California families, expanded to nearly 10 states by Election Day. The online marketplace said its daycare centers have been very enthusiastic about participating in the program.
“It's something people really care about,” said Bumo Chief Executive and founder Joan Nguyen. “It's not just empowering people to vote, it's also empowering parents to vote.”
To claim a spot at one of Brella's three locations, parents must fill out a Google form to express interest and then work with someone on the team to fill out registration forms. The process can take anywhere from 15 minutes to several hours, says founder and CEO Melanie Wolff.
“Families are very grateful for the opportunity to receive free childcare on this day,” she said. “I think it's seen as a really good step in the community in a really divisive time.
These centers accommodate 120 children, according to Wolf.
“I think we have a real time and a real opportunity right now,” said Erin Erenberg, CEO of the Chamber of Mothers. “Women's rights were more prominent than in previous years. And I think we really have an opportunity to look at what unites us.”
Child care issues have been widely highlighted in the presidential campaign, with Kamala Harris advocating for a new care economy for working families and former President Trump touting his past record. Harris proposed a child care program where working families would pay no more than 7% of their income for child care.
Trump did not provide details on improving the child care program, and the GOP campaign platform did not address the issue. Project 2025, the governing playbook of the conservative Heritage Foundation, would end the Head Start program, which serves more than 800,000 low-income children nationwide.
Neither Politisit nor the Chamber of Mothers gives guidance on who mothers should vote for.
“You should never have to choose between your job, your hobbies and being a mother,” Felix said in a statement. “I feel honored to work with the Chamber of Mothers to tell mothers that in this election, you don't have to choose between voting and being a mother. This option, you can do both.
This article is part of The Times' early childhood education program, which focuses on the learning and development of California children from birth to 5 years old. For more information about this program and its charitable sponsors, visit latimes.com/earlyed.
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