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Live primary election results tonight: Pasadena City Council seats
More about this race
What’s at stake in this race
Pasadena is going to have some difficult choices ahead, including how to balance a budget with a growing structural deficit and how to use roughly 50 acres of land along an abandoned 710 Freeway extension. The three City Council members to be elected this year — in Districts 3, 5 and 7 — will join four incumbent council members and the mayor to make these policy decisions and much more over their four-year terms.
What it takes to win
A candidate will win the election if they receive more than 50% of their district’s votes in the June primary. If no candidate breaks 50% in June, the top two finishers compete in a runoff election in the fall.
Why this race matters
Here are just a few of the thorny issues coming up for the city of Pasadena:
Balancing the budget: The most recent city budget summary (for fiscal year 2026) highlighted that the city’s finances are “stable but strained” and that “growing deficits are forecast for the foreseeable future.”
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The 710 Freeway “stub”: In 2022, Caltrans returned about 50 acres of land to the city after a planned extension of the 710 Freeway was canceled. The City Council will decide how to use the land and properties it owns there. The city has sold some homes on the land and the City Council will weigh a number of uses for the remaining property, including creating open space, building affordable housing or focusing on business uses.
Negotiating major contracts: Not only is Pasadena in an ongoing lawsuit to keep UCLA football at the Rose Bowl beyond the 2026 season, but the city also is about to start a new round of negotiations with its 11 union labor partners. The City Council will give the final say on what can be approved in any new or amended contracts, and those decisions could change the services residents receive.
Go deeper on the issues
- Guide to the race for Pasadena City Council District 3 (LAist)
- Guide to the race for Pasadena City Council District 5 (LAist)
- Guide to the race for Pasadena City Council District 7 (LAist)
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.
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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