Voter Guides

The Voter Game Plan team is hard at work

LAist reporters and editors are back again to provide you the election guides and coverage you rely on.

Key dates

Oct. 5: Deadline for counties to start sending mail-in ballots. Early voting sites open.
Oct. 19: Last day to register to vote. (You can still conditionally register to vote beyond this date, but you must do it in person. Check your registration status here.)
Oct. 24: Select Vote Centers open across Los Angeles and Orange County for in-person voting. (See LAVote.gov and OCVote.gov for locations.)
Late October: To make sure your ballot is postmarked by Election Day, election officials recommend mailing it at least 7 days in advance.
Oct. 31: All Vote Centers open across L.A. and O.C.
Nov. 3: Election Day. Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Nov. 10: Final day for ballots postmarked on or before Election Day to be received by county election officials.

Your guide to LA County races

The LAist team is back to help you cast your ballot in dozens of L.A. County races in the Nov. 3 general election, including the always-hard-to-choose judges.

Your guide to the Los Angeles mayoral race

What is Charter Amendment LA?

The race for LA County sheriff

Your guide to Orange County races

Orange County guides

The LAist team is back to help you cast your ballot for the top general election races in Orange County, including judges and statewide races.

Orange County Board of Supervisors, District 5: Who's running and why it matters

Irvine Measure D: What to know about ranked-choice voting

Santa Ana Measure N: What to know about the sales tax extension

Join us in person

Oct 7

AirTalk’s Ballot Cram Session
- The Crawford
  474 S. Raymond Ave., Pasadena
Election day is just around the corner, get your notepads and pencils ready — it’s time for a one-hour cram session.
Oct 13

Orange County Ballot Cram Session
- OASIS Senior Center
  801 Narcissus Ave, Corona Del Mar
Sharpen your pencils and get out your notebooks — it’s time for a cram session!
Oct 21

Judicial Elections Ballot Cram Session
- The Crawford
  474 S. Raymond Ave., Pasadena
LAist reporter Cato Hernández has been covering judicial elections since 2022 and they will help you navigate these particularly challenging pages on your ballot.

What questions do you have about this election?

You ask, and we'll answer: Whether it's about who's funding the campaigns or how to track your ballot, we're here to help you understand the 2026 election.

More election news

Why are out-of-state billionaires funding a California voter ID measure?

Republican megadonors are boosting California’s voter ID measure in the hopes its success, or failure, can reveal how similar measures can perform in more moderate states.
Hilton pitches CA voters on electing a Republican governor at LA Times and LAist event

Steve Hilton is an underdog in deeply blue California. On Tuesday, he’s telling journalists why voters should trust him to tackle affordability, housing and homelessness.
Newport Beach voters could get two separate ballots for the election. Will it be legal?

An Orange County judge has ordered the city to hold a parallel election on Nov. 3.

Listen 0:40
People are asking ChatGPT to help them decide how to vote in the midterms

This year, some voters are trying something new to get ready for the election: asking AI to help research their ballot and even decide who to vote for.

Listen 4:33
Democrats want to change the rules for recall elections. Voters get their say with Prop 5

Democrats say the recall process has gotten out of hand and they want to drop the "second question" to replace a politician.
5 tax measures are on the California ballot. Here’s how to make sense of them all

California voters haven’t had to make so many decisions about tax policy at the ballot since 1994. Our analysis shows voters to reject new taxes.

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Election videos

High school seniors vote for the first time in South L.A.

A woman in a cream blazer sits in an armchair, gesturing with both hands while speaking into a podcast-style microphone on a stand. A purple-to-orange color overlay tints the photo.

Karen Bass defends Inside Safe program

L.A. mayoral candidate Nithya Raman speaking into a mic while wearing a pink blazer and a black blouse and pants.

The next LAPD chief needs ‘courage’ with ICE, says mayoral candidate Nithya Raman

A man in a dark blazer and open-collar light shirt sits in an upholstered chair, speaking into a microphone with his right fist raised. He wears glasses and a small pin on his lapel. A blue-to-red gradient overlay covers the image. Partial text on a banner behind him.

How Xavier Becerra would fix CA's homeless spending if elected governor

Claude Parrish (left) and Janet Conklin (right) are photoshopped next to each other with a blue and red background. Parrish sports a suit with a yellow and black striped tie while Conklin stands in a blue dress while holding a microphone.

OC assessor candidates both surrounded by controversy

Rae Huang sits and talks into a mic while wearing glasses, a black blazer and white top.

LA’s budget tells us what we value, says mayoral candidate Rae Huang

About California's new congressional districts

Federal judges uphold California’s new congressional maps favoring Democrats

The ruling denies a request by California Republicans and the Trump administration for a preliminary injunction blocking the maps created by Proposition 50.
How Prop 50 is shaping 2026 and what it means for SoCal voters

The vote isn't certified yet, but a lot has happened since Election Day.
Half of California voters turned out for Prop 50. Here's how SoCal voted

Statewide turnout was 50%. It was lower in L.A. County and higher in Orange County.