Vote counting winding down in LA and OC

Here's what you should know about the vote totals currently released:

As of Thursday evening, June 18, L.A. County election officials reported that votes processed to date represented a turnout of 37.76% of registered voters.

In Orange County, it's estimated turnout is a bit higher at 43%.

Both L.A. and O.C. saw the most primary votes since at least the 2016 election.

How vote counts will be released

I thought it was an election NIGHT?

That hasn't been true in quite a while. It takes a while to get results because after the initial tallies on election night, there are still many votes to count and more mail-in ballots are usually arriving.

June 9 was the final day for votes postmarked by June 2 to arrive at county elections offices.

Here’s what we know so far:

L.A. County turnout

Watch the live count:

Los Angeles County has more than 5.8 million registered voters. As of the evening of June 16:

• 2,225,038 ballots have been counted
• 84.65% voted by mail
• 15.35% voted in person

As of June 10, all the outstanding ballots are waiting for a voter response and signature verification, according to county election officials.

What's next:

• Has your ballot been tallied yet? You can track the status of your ballot here.

Orange County turnout

Orange County has more than 1.9 million registered voters. As of 5 p.m. June 16:

• 821,316 ballots have been counted
• 87.1% voted by mail
• 12.6% voted in person
• 0.3% CVR/provisional

As of Tuesday, the preliminary estimate of outstanding ballots to be processed is 9,100.

Here's how that breaks down:

• Vote-by-mail ballots (received on or before Election Day via mail): 1,700
• Eligible ballots received after Election Day: 1,600
• Vote-by-mail ballots returned at vote centers: 1,800
• Ballots from drop boxes: 4,000

What's next:

• Has your ballot been tallied yet? You can track the status of your ballot here.

Turnout by party statewide

Political Data Inc. is tracking ballot returns across California and in some high-profile races.

As of Thursday, turnout statewide is at 40.7%, according to the Secretary of State. Here's PDI's breakdown of the known vote by party lines:

• Democrats: 41%
• Republicans 42%
• No party preference 26%

See the latest totals ▶

Why election day has turned into ballot-counting month

Because of the increasing use of vote-by-mail ballots, the vote count has gotten longer, according to the California Voter Foundation. In an analysis, the organization found:

• In November 2004, more than 80% of votes were counted within two days of Election Day, with 32.6% voting by mail. 
• In June 2022, about 50% of ballots were counted within two days of Election Day, with more than 90% of people voting by mail. 
• In November 2024, 66% of votes were counted within the first two days of Election Day, with 81% of the vote by mail.

A closer look at ballot counting times in California where an increasing number of vote-by-mail ballots has slowed ballot counts.

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Courtesy California Voter Foundation

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Election officials must physically open mail-in ballots and verify signatures.

Kim Alexander, president of the California Voter Foundation, recently wrote about the ripple effect of turning in mail-in ballots by hand or in drop boxes on election day. She wrote for our partner newsroom CalMatters:

"We turn in ballots in envelopes on Election Day that take time and care to process and cannot be processed until after Election Day. Processing these ballots — which account for as much as a quarter of all ballots cast — creates a bottleneck I like to call 'the pig in the python effect'. It prevents counties from doing other tasks they need to do to certify the results."