Los Angeles City Council members can hold a lot of swayfor many of the issues you care about. For example, they approve budgets for law enforcement agencies and decide whether or not to enforce arrests of unhoused people who camp out in certain areas in their district.
But not everyone will have the L.A. City Council — or the L.A. mayor — on their ballot this election. Here’s why you might not.
First and foremost: Voters only vote on L.A. City Council seats or the L.A. mayor's race if they live in the city of L.A.
Many people who have "Los Angeles" in their mailing address live in unincorporated L.A. County, not the city of L.A. That means they won't vote for the L.A. City Council.
But even if you do live in the city of L.A., you still might not be voting in any L.A. City Council races
That's because L.A. City Council terms are staggered. Eight City Council seats were up for grabs in June, and in six of those races, there were clear winners who garnered more than 50% of the vote. The remaining two races are headed to a fall runoff — districts 3 and 9. So you'd need to live within one of these two districts to see the race on your ballot. The rest of the City Council members are not up for election at this time. You can use this handy tool to look up your district using your address or cross streets. (We like this tool because it will also tell you about your other elected officials and districts, such as which Los Angeles County supervisorial district you live in.) You can also look up your location on this map of LA City Council Districts:
Keep reading for an overview of some of the L.A. City races on the ballot, with links to the LAist Voter Guide for each election.
A closer look at the L.A. City races on the ballot
- District 3
- The district is located in the southwestern corner of the San Fernando Valley and includes Woodland Hills, Tarzana, Canoga Park, Winnetka and Reseda.
- District 9
- This district follows the Harbor Freeway from the south end of downtown Los Angeles through Historic South Central, South Park, Florence, University Park, Exposition Park and Vermont-Slauson.
More L.A. City and County races
If you've figured out you do live in the city of L.A., here are a few other races you might be interested in:
Top Los Angeles City races
- L.A. mayor
- L.A. city attorney
- Charter Amendment LA, a Los Angeles City measure that would move the city to a two-year budgeting cycle and make other changes to infrastructure planning and the Department of Public Works.
- Charter Amendment PRK, a Los Angeles City measure that would require the city to spend more on parks
- Measure FD, a Los Angeles City sales tax to fund the L.A. Fire Department
- Proposition TE, a Los Angeles City measure that would spare some Pacific Palisades fire survivors from the "mansion tax"
Top Los Angeles County races
- LA County sheriff
- Los Angeles County Superior Court judges
- Measure A, a Los Angeles County measure that forces the county and certain unions to go to arbitration if contract negotiations fall apart.
- Measure E, a Los Angeles County charter amendment that would give L.A. County's new watchdogs some teeth — and fix a funding error.
- More LAist guides coming soon
Still not sure?
You can always confirm what should be on your ballot by accessing your sample ballot. If you aren't registered to vote yet, you can also look up your sample ballot by address.
Contact the L.A. County Elections office if you suspect any problems with your ballot.
If you have a question that’s not being addressed this election cycle, ask us! You can submit your question by using the form below, and the Voter Game Plan team will do our best to get you an answer.
This story was written by a former LAist staff writer, Adriana Pera, and published in 2024. This story has been updated continuously since then.
