2024 Travel + Hotel Information
Planning
2024 Conference Details
The conference begins Thursday, May 16 at 8:30am.
The final conference activity on Friday will be an optional tour of LA County's ballot counting facility. This optional tour will end Friday, May 17 by approximately 4:30pm. For those who do not wish to do the facility tour, conference proceedings will end around 12:45pm.
Although the tour of LA County's ballot counting facility will conclude at approximately 4:30pm, participants who attend should plan on heavy traffic when scheduling their flights; we recommend flying out no earlier than 7pm on Friday, to be safe. Transportation to and from the ballot facility will be provided.
Lodging
Hotel Information
We have secured a block of rooms at a discounted rate for conference attendees at The Westin Bonaventure Hotel & Suites in downtown Los Angeles. Please reserve your room using the direct link below to access the special group rate for the ESRA conference:
The Westin Bonaventure DTLA is conveniently located not far from USC's campus at 404 S. Figueroa St. There are restaurants and amenities within the hotel, as well as many amenities – including restaurants, the architecturally significant L.A. Public Library, and a less-architecturally significant but conveniently located Target store – within a short walking distance of the hotel. The hotel is one of L.A.'s iconic architectural hotels, and has been seen in many films, including True Lies starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jamie Lee Curtis.
Navigation
Getting There
We have selected this hotel based on its proximity to both campus and to amenities in downtown L.A. The Westin Bonaventure DTLA is located 3.5 blocks from the 7th St./Metro center train station, which you can use to take a short train/light rail ride to USC. USC is three stops south of this train station, and is where most of the conference will be held. Alternatively, attendees may prefer a short Uber/Lyft to campus instead of the metro train/rail.
Making Travel Plans
The conference will begin on Thursday, May 16 at approximately 8:30am. On Friday, May 17, the formal panels will begin at approximately 8:30am and conclude at 12:15pm. At that point, there will be an amazing optional site visit and tour of the L.A. County's new ballot counting facility, where millions of ballots are counted. This optional tour will run from 1:30-3:30pm and will feature a keynote from Dean Logan, L.A. County election administrator.
Due to traffic, those on the tour should expect to arrive back at the hotel/campus by 5:30pm on Friday, possibly later given the unpredictability of L.A. traffic. We strongly encourage those planning on joining the optional tour to plan their departure from LA late Friday night/evening or even Saturday morning.