Voters appear to be evenly divided, so far, over whether to accept a package of proposed changes to Los Angeles County government, including expanding the number of seats on the powerful Board of Supervisors.
By Wednesday morning, the votes for and against Measure G remained split about 50-50. The county Registrar of Voters is expected to update the vote count Wednesday evening sometime after 4 p.m.
What would Measure G do?
If the measure passes, the county Board of Supervisors would be increased from five seats to nine seats, a change that would happen after the 2030 Census. Currently, each member of the board represents about 2 million people and oversees a $46 billion budget — making policy decisions about things like housing, jails and social services.
Measure G would also change the county CEO position to one that is elected by voters, instead of appointed by the board. That change would happen by 2028.
And it would requires the creation of an independent ethics commission charged with rooting out corruption and increasing restrictions on lobbying. A non-partisan legislative analyst would review proposed county legislation (the city and state have similar positions).
Measure G changes a county governance structure that has mostly stayed the same since 1912 when L.A. County had a population of about 500,000 people. Today, there are 10 million people in the county, which is more than the entire population of most states.
What are people saying about Measure G?
Proponents of the measure, including Supervisors Lindsey Horvath and Janice Hahn, have said the change would make the board more representative of the county population and more responsive to community needs. Horvath and Hahn proposed the reform measure.
Opponents have expressed concern about the costs of the additional positions, as well as politicizing the county CEO position, who handles the county's day-to-day operations.
Supervisors Kathryn Barger and Holly Mitchell abstained from a vote to place the measure on the ballot.
