Live Results
Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva conceded Tuesday that he had lost his bid for reelection to former Long Beach Police Chief Robert Luna.
After Tuesday's vote update, Luna has opened up a 20-point lead over Villanueva.
In a statement on Twitter Tuesday, Luna said he is "deeply honored and humbled that you have elected me as your next sheriff."
He added: "[y]ou have entrusted me with a clear mandate to bring new leadership and accountability to the Sheriff's Department. And that's exactly what I will do." He will take office in the first week of December.
At times choking up with emotion at his news conference, a defiant Villanueva pointed to a list of accomplishments and rehashed his grievances with the Board of Supervisors, the Inspector General, the media, and former employees who have accused him of misconduct.
He said that over the past four years his department faced more challenges “than the prior 50 years,” listing the pandemic, the George Floyd protests, the “defunding movement,” wildfires, rising homelessness and violent crime.
“We met the challenges,” he said, noting accomplishments such as his removal of federal immigration agents from the jails, the deployment of body-worn cameras, and his efforts to reduce the jail population during the pandemic, among others.
“I want to wish the incoming Sheriff well,” Villanueva said. “I want him to succeed for a simple reason: The safety of the community depends on him succeeding.”
Luna will lead the largest sheriff's department in the nation. It is a much-troubled agency currently under investigation by the California Department of Justice over allegations of a pattern of civil rights violations, including excessive use of force and false arrests. The sheriff runs the county jail system, which houses more than 15,000 inmates. A federal judge has asked for a plan to address excessive use of force by deputies in the jails.
Here's L.A. County's schedule for the release of new vote totals
Estimated time of the following releases is between 4- 5 p.m.
Tue, Nov. 22 | Fri, Nov. 25 | Tue, Nov. 29 |Fri, Dec. 2
And if needed, Monday, Dec. 5
Read more about turnout: What We Know So Far About SoCal Voter Turnout In The 2022 General Election
The vote count as of Nov. 18:
- 2,441,323 ballots have been processed and counted
- 80% of those were mail-in ballots
- 20% voted in person
Still to be counted:
- Vote by Mail ballots: 22,200
- Conditional Voter Registration ballots: 3,000
- Provisional ballots: 50
About The Candidates
More Election Results
City of Los Angeles
- Mayor | City Controller |City Council
- Measures: LH (how-income housing)| SP (parcel tax for parks) |ULA (aka "mansion tax")
L.A. County
California propositions
Alex Villanueva
The race is considered to be a referendum on Villanueva. Four years ago, he was a retired lieutenant who scored an upset victory over incumbent Jim McDonnell. Villanueva promised to be a progressive reformer but he ended up becoming a darling of Fox News.
Robert Luna
Robert Luna spent 38 years with the Long Beach Police Department, the last seven as chief. He retired in 2021. He has promised to work more cooperatively with the Board of Supervisors and Sheriff Civilian Oversight Commission than the notoriously combative Villanueva.
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A Note On The Results
Keep in mind that in tight races particularly, the winner may not be determined for days or weeks after Election Day. In L.A. County, the first batch of results released includes vote by mail ballots received before Election Day, followed by early votes cast at vote centers before Election Day, then votes cast in-person on Election Day. This process is expected to wrap up in the early hours of Nov. 9. Then, additional results will be released following a schedule you can see on the county's site. In California, ballots postmarked on or before Nov. 8 are counted toward the results as long as they arrive within seven days of the election. Results must be certified by county election officials by Dec. 8.
Tracking Your Ballot
You can track the status of your ballot:
- Voters in L.A. County
- Voters anywhere in California
If your mail-in ballot is rejected for any reason (like a missing or mismatched signature), your county registrar must contact you to give you a chance to fix it. In Los Angeles County, the registrar will send you a notification by mail and you have until Nov. 28 to reply and "cure" your ballot.
How We're Covering This Election
Early voters and mail-in ballots have fundamentally reshaped how votes are counted and when election results are known.
Our priority will be sharing outcomes and election calls only when they have been thoroughly checked and vetted. To that end, we will rely on NPR and The Associated Press for race calls. We will not report the calls or projections of other news outlets. You can find more on NPR and The AP's process for counting votes and calling races here, here and here.
