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Live primary election results tonight: Los Angeles County sheriff
More about this race
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department is the largest sheriff’s agency in the nation — and is the third largest local law enforcement agency just behind the New York Police Department and the Chicago Police Department. It’s also plagued by problems including a recruitment crisis, complaints of excessive force by deputies and reports of inhumane conditions inside the jails, which the department oversees.
Voters are poised to decide whether the current sheriff, Robert Luna, is addressing these and other issues adequately or whether one of his seven challengers would do better. The next sheriff will also help oversee security for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
The sheriff is the only elected official in the county who wears a badge and carries a gun. There are 8,703 sworn personnel in the department and 5,431 civilian positions.
What it takes to win
The candidate with a majority of votes in the June primary wins. If no candidate wins a majority of votes, the top two vote-getters will face off in a November run-off.
Why this race matters
Here are just a few of the things that the next sheriff must grapple with:
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The jails
California Attorney General Rob Bonta filed a lawsuit in September 2025 alleging unconstitutional, inhumane conditions inside county jails. The lawsuit cites severe filth, rat infestations, lack of clean water, spoiled food, and inadequate medical care and demands comprehensive reforms. The next sheriff will have to address jail conditions.
Recruitment
Like all law enforcement organizations, the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department is having a hard time finding new recruits. Deputies are sometimes forced to work overtime shifts because of a shortage of personnel. The next sheriff will have to figure out a way to recruit more deputies while maintaining standards.
Use of force
Communities heavily patrolled by the Sheriff’s Department continue to have concerns about excessive use of force by sheriff’s deputies. People who protested against the presence of federal immigration officers in L.A. last summer complained of sheriff’s deputies using excessive force to break up peaceful demonstrations. The next sheriff will have to address this, as well as incidents involving use of force against people with mental illness.
Campaign finance
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No outside spending as of last reporting date
Independent or outside committees can raise and spend without limits — but they're barred from coordinating with a candidate. A chart will appear above when any outside committees have spent money to support or oppose a candidate in this race. Updated every Tuesday and Thursday.
Go deeper on the issues
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.
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