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Live primary election results tonight: LA County Superior Court judges
Fifteen judgeships are up for election, but only 11 races are contested. (The rest are running unopposed.) Choosing whom to vote for in these races is one of the hardest jobs facing voters, and each election season we go all in on helping voters make a choice.
Superior Court judges oversee courtroom proceedings and trials across all of L.A. County. There are more than 400 judges in the court system. These trials cover everything having to do with state and local laws, including family law (such as child custody and divorces), landlord and tenant cases, contract disputes, thefts, murder, probate (distributing a person’s possessions after they die) and small claims.
What it takes to win
For races that have only two candidates, the winner will be decided in the June primary. Whoever gets more than 50% of the vote wins outright.
For the rest, if no one gets more than half of the votes, the top two vote-getters move on to the general election in November.
Go deeper on the issues
- Guide to who's running for Los Angeles County Superior Court and why it matters (LAist)
- How the L.A. County Bar Association rates judicial candidates (LAist)
- L.A. County judge up for reelection accused of violating ethics rules (LAist)
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Judge Robert Draper is accused of making irrelevant statements about race in court and sending inappropriate photos to colleagues.
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About the vote count
For LAist's charts showing vote counts, we get numbers directly from the L.A. County and Orange County registrars of voters for local races. Totals are updated on our site as soon as possible after the registrars provide new tallies. For statewide races, counts come from the California Secretary of State's Office.
Keep in mind that, in tight races particularly, the winner may not be determined for days or weeks after election day. That's because early voting and mail-in ballots have fundamentally reshaped how votes are counted and when election results are known. In L.A. County, for example, updates on the counting are expected to continue through June 26. After the polls close on election night, expect updates every 15 minutes or so through the early morning hours Wednesday. After that, expect updated counts around 5 p.m. on the following days: June 3, 4, 5, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 16, 18, 24 and 26. Final results must be certified by July 10.
Our priority during the vote count will be sharing outcomes and election calls only when they have been thoroughly checked and vetted by journalists. To that end, we will report when candidates concede and otherwise rely on NPR and the Associated Press for race calls (before official results). We will not report the calls or projections of other news outlets. You can find more about NPR's and the AP's process for counting votes and calling races here, here and here.
Tracking your ballot
You can track the status of your ballot through California's BallotTrax website.
If your mail-in ballot has any problems (like a missing or mismatched signature), your county registrar must contact you to give you a chance to fix it.
Official results
The California Secretary of State's Office is required to certify the final vote tallies by July 10, marking the official end of the 2026 primary election.
LAist's Voter Game Plan will be back in the fall to help you prepare for the Nov. 3 general election.
Ask us a question
What questions do you have about this election?
You ask, and we'll answer: Whether it's about who's funding the campaigns or how to track your ballot, we're here to help you understand the 2026 election