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Civics & Democracy

Over 30% of registered voters in LA and Orange counties have already returned their ballot

Voters fill out their ballots on the second day of early voting in the 2024 presidential election at the Board of Elections Loop Super Site in Chicago on Oct. 4.
Voters fill out their ballots on the second day of early voting in the 2024 presidential election at the Board of Elections Loop Super Site in Chicago on Oct. 4.
(
Kamil Krzaczynski
/
AFP via Getty Images
)

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Topline:

Roughly 30% of registered voters in Los Angeles County and more than 40% in Orange County have already returned their ballots, with the majority favoring voting by mail, elections officials are reporting.

What the numbers tell us in Los Angeles County: Around 1.5 million people out of 5.7 million registered voters in L.A. County have sent their mail-in ballots, according to the registrar’s office. At in-person vote centers across the county, around 116,000 Democrats, 110,000 Republicans and 52,000 voters with no party preference have checked in. However, these numbers are lower than early voting in the 2020 presidential election. That year, with just over a week to go to Election Day, 1.8 million voters had returned their ballots. But it was also the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, with many Angelenos still exercising caution about in person activities.

What do the numbers tell us in Orange County: Around 86% of voters favored mail in voting, according to registrar's office. Of the ballots returned and approved for counting, about 290,000 ballots were issued to registered Democrats and around 310,000 to registered Republicans. While in person voting in O.C. began in October, around 50,000 voters preferred casting their ballots in the weekend before the elections.

If you haven’t voted:

  • In person voting centers will stay open until 8 p.m. on Election Day. If you are not registered to vote, you can do so in person at any polling center.
  • It’s still not too late to mail in your ballot. Here's our guide on how to do so. 
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