LA County's New Ballot Processing Center Is In An Old Fry's Electronics. And You Can Watch The Action Live

If you're a Los Angeles County voter participating in the primary — we've got a game plan for that, by the way — your ballot will pass through a brand-new facility located in a throwback location: a former Fry's Electronics in the City of Industry.

That's where every ballot in the March 5 primary, as well as future elections, will be directed as part of a countywide initiative to consolidate and heighten security around the ballot counting process, according to Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk Dean Logan.

"We've minimized the need to move ballots around the county to complete the process, and we've opened up a broader opportunity for those who want to observe the process and see the level of security and integrity of the voting process," Logan said.

Even votes that are cast in person will be tabulated, though the facility is also equipped to verify and count ballots sent by mail. About 3 million votes are cast countywide in a major election, according to Logan.

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Watch votes being counted live

The livestream will run during business hours from Monday-Friday, where viewers can tune in to see the ballot verification process. You can also tune in to see poll workers tally the votes on the night of the election here.

Logan said the county also used the same location in 2022, though they've negotiated a longterm lease and installed increased security measures like a secure glass enclosure around the room where the ballots are counted. The county started moving toward this model in 2020, when the county used the grounds of the Pomona Fairplex to count ballots while it was shut down for the pandemic.

Logan said the ballot counting process will be expedited now that ballots won't have to move from location to location — though officials caution that this may not necessarily lead to faster results on election night.

"What slows that process down is we can't count the ballots until we actually have them — in California, the law allows for vote by mail ballots to be mailed on election day, as long as they're postmarked," Logan said. "We don't get those ballots into the facility until sometimes two or three days after the election."

The county will find other uses for the facility when it's not election season, including training, planning and even other county services. And if you're looking to get involved yourself or earn some extra money, Logan said they're looking for temporary employees for the upcoming election, including call center staff, vote by mail processing and community election work.

"We're also able to target our recruitment to the communities that surround the City of Industry where the facility is located," Logan said. "It's also a side opportunity to do a little bit of economic development and encouragement in the community in which we operate."

In-person early voting

You can now vote in-person at 119 vote centers across Los Angeles County. Vote centers are open daily from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Go here for a full list of locations.