Election Day in L.A.: Bass and Raman Enter the Final Hours in a Dead Heat as Polls Stay Open Until 8 p.m.
The last public poll had the mayor and her challenger tied at 40%, and voters also pick a governor, a city attorney, a sheriff and 14 statewide propositions. Here's how to vote and when results will come in.
Polls opened at 7 a.m. across Los Angeles County on Tuesday, and voters have until 8 p.m. to settle a mayor's race that the latest public poll called a dead heat. Mayor Karen Bass is seeking a second term against City Councilmember Nithya Raman, and the ballot also carries the race for governor, a long list of local contests and 14 statewide propositions. Anyone in line by 8 p.m. is legally allowed to vote, LAist reported.
A Tie Going Into the Final Day
One week before Election Day, a UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies poll co-sponsored by the Los Angeles Times had Bass and Raman each at 40% among likely voters, with 19% undecided, NBC Los Angeles reported. That was a sharp turnaround from the institute's September poll, which had Raman ahead 39% to 28% and a third of likely voters still undecided.
Much of the shift came from voters who backed reality TV star Spencer Pratt in the June primary. In October, 41% of those Pratt voters said they planned to back Bass and 14% said Raman, while 45% were still undecided, according to NBC Los Angeles.
Both candidates spent Monday making closing arguments. Bass, who has never lost an election for public office, joined Democratic candidate for governor Xavier Becerra at Homegirl Cafe near Chinatown before stops in Sylmar and Pacoima. "My closing message to voters is that this election is a real choice," Bass said, adding that she believes the city can clear its major encampments, become safer with more police officers and be affordable.
Raman, who announced in February that she would run against her longtime ally, rallied supporters at UCLA. "The issues that I'm speaking to in this campaign are issues that matter for young people," she said, arguing that City Hall "has ignored their needs for far too long." Raman, who is endorsed by the Los Angeles chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America, finished second to Bass in the June primary.
The Rest of a Long Ballot
Statewide, Becerra, a Democrat and former U.S. health secretary, faces Republican Steve Hilton to succeed Gov. Gavin Newsom. A Public Policy Institute of California survey released last week had Becerra ahead 61% to 37% among likely voters, NBC Los Angeles reported. Hilton held a final event Monday evening on the Orange County coast, ABC7 reported.
Closer to home, ABC7 listed these Southern California races to watch: Los Angeles city attorney, between Marissa Roy and John McKinney; City Council District 3, between Tim Gaspar and Barri Girvan; City Council District 9, between Jose Ugarte and Estuardo Mazariegos; and Los Angeles County sheriff, where Robert Luna faces Alex Villanueva. Voters will also decide 14 statewide propositions, including a housing bond, a voter ID measure and a billionaire tax, plus city measures, school bonds and Superior Court judgeships.
How to Vote Today
All 646 vote centers in the county are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. for in-person voting, same-day registration and ballot drop-off, the county Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk said. Locations are listed at locator.lavote.gov, and completed mail ballots can go in any of 429 official drop boxes until 8 p.m. Ballots sent by mail must be postmarked by Tuesday and arrive within seven days, so officials recommend asking for a postmark at a post office.
Voters who still have their mail ballot don't need to bring it to a vote center, since it is voided at check-in, and anyone who registers on the spot will cast a provisional ballot, LAist reported. Metro buses, trains, Metro Micro and Metro Bike Share are free until 11:59 p.m., and so are LADOT's DASH and Commuter Express lines.
A Late Legal Fight Ends
On Monday evening, the U.S. Supreme Court turned down a last-minute request from the Justice Department, which wanted California to set aside ballots from about 20,000 people it calls likely noncitizens. Lower courts had already rejected the request, and a UCLA Voting Rights Project analysis found that 42% of the names on the federal list do not appear on the state's current voter roll, according to NPR's report published by LAist.
When Results Come In
The county posts its first results shortly after 8 p.m., starting with mail ballots received before Election Day, followed by early in-person votes and then Tuesday's votes, a process expected to run into the early hours of Wednesday. Close races may not be called for days or weeks. Results will appear at results.lavote.gov, and counties have until Dec. 3 to certify them, LAist reported.
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