One year ago, Congress defunded public media. Now that we're 100% community funded, please become a sustaining member or increase your existing membership today.
Despite The Pandemic, Turnout In the 30th State Senate Special Election Is About Average
Assemblymember Sydney Kamlager easily won the special election for the 30th District State Senate seat. (Sydney Kamlager Facebook page)
In spite of the pandemic and the usual combination of apathy and low information in an off-year election, turnout for Tuesday’s contest for a State Senate seat is approaching typical participation rates for a special election in Los Angeles County, according to an update released today.
Democratic Assemblymember Sydney Kamlager easily won the election for the 30th District seat, avoiding a runoff to replace her former boss, now-Supervisor Holly Mitchell.
So far, the L.A. County Registrar-Recorder’s office has counted just over 77,000 ballots. That’s nearing 13% of registered voters in the district, which includes South L.A., Culver City and parts of downtown. An estimated 730 vote-by-mail ballots remain to be processed.
How does that compare with past voter interest? In the 16 State Senate special election primaries (not counting recalls) involving at least part of L.A. County since 1989, the average turnout was roughly 14%, according to data from the California Secretary of State.
The turnout in this election is already much higher than in the special election that first sent Mitchell to the State Senate.
In 2013, only 5.5% of SD 26 voters turned out for the primary election to replace Curren Price, who resigned after being elected to the L.A. City Council.
GO DEEPER:
- Election Results: Sydney Kamlager Easily Leads Race For State Senate Seat
- Your Guide To The March 2 Special Election For LA's 30th District State Senate Seat
Our news is free on LAist. To make sure you get our coverage: Sign up for our daily newsletters. To support our non-profit public service journalism: Donate Now.
One year ago, Congress voted to defund public media, eliminating a critical $1.7 million from our budget every year going forward. But they couldn’t silence us, and we’re not going anywhere. LAist is now 100% community funded and that means we’re taking our future into our own hands and turning to you to keep local reporting strong.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief
