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California ballots still to be counted: 1.4 million
A woman submits her ballot at Estrada Court Community Center in Boyle Heights.
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California ballots still to be counted: 1.4 million
California's primary may be behind us, but believe it or not, there are still ballots to be counted. Here's an update on where things stand after the June 7 primary election.
Q: How many ballots have been counted so far and how many more to go?
More than 7 million ballots have been counted across the state from last week's primary election. But in California, counting votes takes a long time: as of Thursday, the Secretary of State's office reported there are still about 1.4 million ballots remaining to be counted.
In Los Angeles County, the latest numbers from the registrar's office shows about 350,000 ballots still need to be counted. About 1.7 million ballots were cast and counted so far.
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Q: When will the last ballots be counted and how many people showed up at the polls?
The Secretary of State has about a month to process all ballots statewide. Counties have to submit their results to the state by July 8, and the state has until July 15 to certify the statewide results.
As for how many people voted, the numbers will go up as more votes are counted, but right now statewide voter turnout is tracking at about 41 percent.
In Southern California, there are differences among counties. Orange and Ventura counties are showing much higher turnout than the L.A. area, with participation thus far at 46 percent and 48 percent respectively.
In comparison, L.A. County turnout is currently at 35 percent. That's fairly typical for county voters looking at recent presidential primaries. Voters in the county have been showing up at rates below 40 percent since 1996. One exception was back in 2008, when Hillary Clinton defeated Barack Obama in California’s primary and turnout exceeded 55 percent in L.A. County.
Q: What's the latest on the competition for the two open seats on the L.A. County Board of Supervisors?
Right now, the race for District 4, which covers the South Bay and cities like Whittier, is led by Congresswoman Janice Hahn. She's hoping to reach the 50 percent plus one threshold needed to avoid a runoff in November, but that appears to be a steep climb. At this point, she's at 47 percent, with competitor Steve Napolitano trailing at 38 percent. It’s likely the two will face off in November.
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Q: And what about in the supervisors' District 5 in northern Los Angeles County. Any word on what that runoff will look like come November?
The clear leader in that race is Kathryn Barger, outgoing supervisor Mike Antonovich's chief of staff.
But the race for who'll face her in the general is still very close. The only Democrat in the race, Darrell Park, is leading state Sen. Bob Huff by just 463 votes, according to the latest numbers.
Q: Are there any close races in Orange County?
There are a few close contests there. One is the state Assembly race for District 68. That district covers cities like Tustin and Anaheim. Sean Panahi, an attorney and a Democrat, has a healthy lock on the first-place spot.
Battling for second and a place on the November ballot are Harry Sidhu, a former Anaheim city Council member, and Irvine Mayor Steven Choi.
The race is so tight there that as of the last update just 71 votes are separating the candidates. Choi is leading Sidhu right now, but that could change.
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This story was updated.
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