Election 2022: Scenes From The June 7 California Primary

Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva speaks at his election watching party at Cities Restaurant in East Los Angeles, CA on June 7, 2022.

(Brian Feinzimer

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LAist)

L.A. Sheriff Alex Villanueva told a crowd of supporters at his election night party that his campaign anticipates "remaining on top" of ballot results.

Villanueva said his campaign has focused on what matters to people, "homelessness and violent crime."

As of 10:31 p.m., results show Villanueva leading the race with 31.47% of counted votes. Candidate Robert Luna closely follows him at 27.17%.

"We're going to keep pushing forward," Villanueva said. "We can end this all tonight. We'll find out soon enough, and you know what, even if it goes up ... I'm built for endurance."

To win a primary outright, a candidate must clear more than 50% of the votes.

Confetti canons go off at Rick Caruso's election night party.

Primary night watch party for mayoral candidate Rick Caruso was held at The Grove.

(Jackie Fortiér

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LAist)

Karen Bass addresses her supporters. Both mayoral candidates will almost certainly face off in a November runoff.

U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla has been projected to advance to the general election in November, according to The Associated Press.

Democratic incumbent Padilla, appointed by Gov. Gavin Newsom to replace former Sen. Kamala Harris when she was elected vice president, is on the ballot for two separate elections and is sailing to huge leads over his opponents in both.

In the special election to fill the remainder of Harris’ six-year term, which ends in January of 2023, Padilla has 57% of the vote.

Similarly, in the election for a full six-year term, Padilla is winning 57% of the vote over Republican Mark P. Meuser, who has 12%.

Sheriff Alex Villanueva stands on the stage at his election night party in East L.A. on June 7, 2022.

(Emily Elena Dugdale

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LAist)

With early results trickling in, L.A. County Sheriff Alex Villanueva was leading with 31.47% as of 8:44 p.m.

"It's a small snapshot, it’s a big county. Lot more numbers coming in,” Villanueva said.

The sheriff said the early numbers reflected what his campaign was expecting to see.

According to the L.A. County Registrar, sheriff candidate Robert Luna has received 27.17% of votes so far — trailing closely behind Villanueva.

The scene at the sheriff's party at Cities Restaurant in East L.A. on June 7, 2022.

(Emily Elena Dugdale

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LAist)

Last year. Robert Garrova reported on the fatal shooting of David Ordaz, Jr. by L.A. County deputies.

Deputies shot and killed Ordaz, Jr. in March 2021. His family has sought answers and changes since then and has sued the department. They were surprised and upset to learn Sheriff Alex Villanueva, who is running for reelection, was holding his watch party at a restaurant where they said Ordaz, Jr. used to work.

Jazmine Moreno, who is Ordaz, Jr.'s former partner and has three children with him, said other people had been killed by deputies within a short distance of Cities Restaurant in East L.A.

Asked later in the evening, Villanueva said he had "no idea" that Ordaz, Jr. had worked at the venue.

If you were in line by 8 p.m., you're legally allowed to cast your ballot.

(Arantza Peña Popo

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LAist)

Dean C. Logan, L.A. County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk, officially announced vote centers and ballot drop boxes are closed.

Important note: If you are currently in line, you may stay on line to vote.

The statement goes on to say the first election results, expected shortly:

• Will include all Vote by Mail ballots received and verified before Election Day.
• The second update will include ballots cast at a Vote Center in the 10-day early voting period.
• The third and subsequent updates will include ballots cast in-person at a Vote Center on Election Day.

We'll have live results throughout the night for both local and statewide contests.

On top of half of the mall getting shut down, Rick Caruso has a larger security force than most election night parties.

The scene at the sheriff's party in East L.A. on June 7, 2022.

(Emily Elena Dugdale

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LAist)

At L.A. Sheriff's Alex Villanueva's election party in East L.A., a reporter has been denied access.

Alene Tchekmedyian, an L.A. Times reporter who's investigated the Sheriff's Department, was not allowed to attend Villanueva’s event, according to a email obtained by LAist that was sent to her from his campaign.

Another reporter, Ross Palombo from CBS LA, was initially denied entry but was ultimately able to enter. He is not allowed to speak to Villanueva.

A voter drops their ballot at an official L.A. County ballot drop box for the November 3, 2020 election.

(Libby Denkmann

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LAist)

While all registered voters in the state should've gotten a ballot in the mail, a Political Data Intelligence tracker shows fewer than a fifth have been returned.

The number is higher among white voters at 22%, and lowest among Latino voters at just 10%.

Mindy Romero, director of USC's Center for Inclusive Democracy, said racial, ethnic, income and age disparities in voting rates are “incredibly entrenched.”

Romero says historically marginalized groups — including Latinos and Black people — are less likely to hear from campaigns...leading to an information gap, which affects turnout.

The election night event for Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva is starting at Cities Restaurant on Cesar E. Chavez Avenue in East L.A. Keep an eye on our blog for details, and follow along with reporter Emily Elena Dugdale on Twitter.

Imelda Barajas as she stands in line for her son's graduation.

(Mariana Dale

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LAist)

It’s election day in L.A., but voting might not be the first thing on people’s minds.

For Imelda Barajas, who’s from Wilmington, today is her son’s commencement. He’s a 26-year-old biochemist major graduating from Los Angeles Trade Technical College.

“He’s graduating and he's probably gonna get a good future out of it,” she said.

As she stood in line to enter the ceremony, Barajas said between two hospitality jobs, she hasn’t had time to open her mail, let alone fill out her ballot.

Help! I’m registered to vote in L.A. County, but I work/go to school far away and I might not get back in time to vote in L.A. What are my options?

We've gotten versions of that question several times today.

Fear not, you've got options. If you have your vote-by-mail ballot with you, you can postmark it from any post office. All ballots postmarked June 7 or earlier will be counted — but make sure that the post office you take it to is still providing June 7 postmarks.

You can also drop your ballot in an official ballot drop box or polling location anywhere in the state, not just L.A. County, by 8 p.m. It will be routed to the correct county.

Something else to bear in mind: If you’re registered in Los Angeles County, you can vote at any vote center in the county. You don’t need to drive back to the vote center closest to where you live.

Find a polling place near you here.

All of the above is also true for voters who are registered in Ventura, Orange, and Riverside counties (or any other Voter’s Choice Act county).

Polls close at 8 p.m. If you’re still in line when polls close, stay there. You can still vote. You just have to be in line at 8 p.m.

Do you have your own burning election question? Submit it, and we'll get back to you with an answer as quickly as we can.

Amber Turner, 26, is an academic coach at Pasadena City College.

(Elly Yu

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LAist)

Amber Turner, 26, is an academic coach at Pasadena City College and had already voted on Tuesday, but she said she knows people who aren't voting because they feel like the system isn’t working.

Analysts have noted that early voter turnout has been low so far, and some reports from vote centers Tuesday suggest the trend might be continuing into Election Day.

Psychology student Agustin Ferretis,18, said he didn't vote because he just felt too busy with work and both spring and summer classes.

"Making that time to research the ballots, and all these people specifically, it's a lot of time that you need to do, and take away from your own day," Ferretis said.

Organizers with Chinatown Community for Equitable Development said that elders were having trouble early Tuesday getting in-language help in Cantonese with voting machines at the Castelar Elementary School vote center.

Two Cantonese-speaking workers were sent there to help, according to the Los Angeles County Registrar's Office. That followed an assigned election worker who didn't report in at that location, according to the registrar.

People who need in-language help with voting are advised to call the registrar’s multilingual services hotline at (800) 815-2666, then press 3. In a response, they said that they have dedicated multilingual staff available throughout the entire voting period to assist voters with questions or concerns.

Joyce Hopson stands outside a vote center in North Hollywood.

(Robert Garrova)

Joyce Hopson's undeterred by reports of low voter turnout — she just voted at the vote center at Strathern Elementary in North Hollywood.

Hopson said that, especially due to serving in the U.S. Army for 34 years, her right to vote feels like an honor and a responsibility. She said that this belief aligns with her fellow Angelenos.

Woody Linares stands outside of his vote center in Boyle Heights.

(Robert Garrova)

Woody Linares works on civic engagement at KIPP college prep school in Boyle Heights, where there is a voting center. Linares was on site Tuesday to help out for the school, before he casts his own ballot this evening.

So far, turnout has been slow, which has been hard for him to see.

One thing to keep in mind as we watch the turnout numbers: California currently has a historically high number of registered voters, accounting for more than 80% of those eligible to vote.

A major factor in this shift has been the state's New Motor Voter Act, which passed in 2015 and automatically registers you to vote — if you are eligible — when you're "completing a driver license (DL) or identification (ID) card or change of address transaction." (Yes, you are also able to opt out.)

At the time it passed, the Public Policy Institute of California predicted:

So here's what that looks like in practice:

Page 1 of California Voter Registration

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Of course, a bigger denominator with more registered voters means you also need a bigger numerator — more people actually voting — to get the same turnout percentage as earlier elections. That's also something to keep in mind when looking at some of the low early turnout numbers headed into Tuesday's primary.

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We'll be taking questions about 10:45 a.m.

James An, 41, is president of the Korean American Federation of Los Angeles. He came to drop off his ballot and is outside to help Korean-speaking voters find their way to the polls.

James An waits in front of the Anderson Munger YMCA in Koreatown to assist people who may need directions to the voting center inside.

(Elly Yu

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LAist)

Jeff Price and Skye Price outside a vote center in Koreatown.

(Elly Yu

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LAist)

Jeff Price, 52, and his 14-year-old son Skye have been coming to vote in person every election since Skye was old enough to help him push the buttons (he's not a fan new digital screens).

Jeff said they prefer voting IRL on actual Election Day.

Kristen Cunningham voted in Koreatown shortly after the polls opened.

(Elly Yu

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LAist)

Kristen Cunningham, 31, is stand-up comedian who lives in Koreatown and was voting at the Anderson Munger YMCA on Tuesday morning. Cunningham said she prefers to mail in her ballot so she can take her time and do research.

But this year, she forgot to switch her address, and had to show up in person with all her usual resources.

Willie Portela, 59, was among the poll workers getting voting underway Tuesday at the Anderson Munger Family YMCA in Koreatown

(Elly Yu

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LAist)

Happy Election Day to those who vote (which isn't many L.A. County residents so far).

Polling sites and vote centers in the county opened at 7 a.m. and will close at 8 p.m.

If you've received your vote-by-mail ballot, get it in a nearby drop box by 8 p.m.

Elly Yu and Paisley Trent are out reporting at voting centers today for LAist. They talked to Willie Portela as he helped get the vote center open at the Anderson Munger Family YMCA in Koreatown. Why is he a poll worker?

It’s Election Day, and that means Los Angeles County’s public transit system is free to ride.

Free trips on L.A. Metro's buses and trains will last until 11:59 p.m. Tuesday.

We should note that due to service cuts, riders should expect delays. And the Summit of the Americas is causing detours for some lines through downtown L.A.

And here are the locations of those drop-off boxes:

• Union Station (East Portal)
• El Monte Bus Station J Line, many local bus lines (plaza area)
• Harbor Freeway Station C and J Lines (park and ride area)
• Harbor Gateway Transit Center J Line, many other local lines (transit plaza area)
• Hollywood/Western Station B (Red) Line, (mezzanine area)
• North Hollywood Station B (Red) Line, (plaza area outside portal)
• Norwalk Station C Line, (plaza area)
• Wilshire/Vermont Station B (Red) and D (Purple) Lines, (courtyard area)

Metro is also offering free 30-minute trips on its bike share network, but you'll need the code in this recent tweet:

It's not just Metro buses — the city of L.A.’s Department of Transportation is also offering free rides today.

This was one of the most frequent questions we got from readers pre-election day. We heard from voters who live in incorporated cities like Glendale and West Hollywood (who have their own mayors) and from people with Los Angeles mailing addresses but who live in unincorporated areas.

Who votes for L.A. mayor?

You must live in the city of Los Angeles to vote in this race. Not sure? Use our Voter's Edge tool to see all the races on your ballot based on your home address.

Page 1 of LA City boundaries

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Take our Meet Your Mayor quiz to find out which candidate aligns closest with your values.

(Images courtesy of mayoral campaigns/Getty Images

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LAist)

As you take the quiz, you’ll be shown which candidates gave the same answer as you to each question. And at the end of the quiz, you’ll find out which candidate or candidates you agree with the most often.

If you voted by mail or dropped off your ballot, you may be wondering if it made it into the vote being counted. California's Secretary of State makes it easy to check: