Just dozens of votes separate some contests as LA and Orange counties keep counting

Officials are still working hard at counting remaining ballots. We have the latest numbers on what the voter turnout looked like.

Those counts continue after bomb threats were made Friday and Saturday, respectively, to O.C. and L.A. counting operations, with no explosives found. Election officials in both counties say they're working with law enforcement to protect staff, and to maintain the integrity of the vote.

L.A. County turnout

As of Friday, Nov. 15, 3,733,131 cast votes have been counted in Los Angeles County. That represents a turnout of 65% of the county's 5,745,214 registered voters. The turnout percentage will continue to go up as more ballots are tallied in the coming days.

County election officials report about 79,400 still need to be processed.

• Vote by Mail ballots: 23,000
• Conditional Voter Registration ballots: 55,000
• Provisional ballots: 1,400

Here's how the vote is breaking down so far:

• 73% voted by mail.
• 27% voted in person

For reference: The 2022 general election, which had the L.A. mayor and California governor on the ballot, drew 2,456,701 L.A. County voters to the polls.

Typically, presidential election years draw larger turnouts (as you'll see in the chart below.)

• Has your 2024 general election ballot been tallied yet? You can track the status of your ballot here.

Turnout in recent L.A. elections

Note: The 2024 turnout will continue to rise as more ballots are tabulated.

Orange County turnout

In Orange County, as of Nov. 15, 1,364,503 votes have been counted. That represents a turnout of more about 70% of the county's 1,861,450 registered voters.

About 71,911 ballots in the county remain to be counted, according O.C. election officials.

Here's how the vote is breaking down so far:

• 77% voted by mail.
• 23% voted in person.

For reference: In the 2024 primary, turnout was around 38%, with about 685,038 of 1,818,551 registered voters casting ballots.

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

Turnout in recent Orange County elections

Note: The 2024 turnout will continue to rise as more ballots are tabulated.

About bomb threats called in

Vote counting went on over the weekend after a bomb threat was called in Saturday, the day after a similar threat was called into the Orange County vote counting operation. Dean C. Logan, the L.A. County's registrar-recorder and county clerk, said they take all threats seriously and he and his staff worked closely with law enforcement officials to maintain operations.

"These threats and efforts to disrupt the legal, transparent, and secure process of counting all eligible ballots have no place in our electoral process," Logan said. "The safety of the employees working to complete the canvass of the election and the security of the ballots are our priority.”

The Orange County counting operations were shut down about 15 minutes before the scheduled stop time on Friday, after a bomb threat was made and the building was evacuated. Law enforcement officers sweeping with bomb detection dogs did not find explosives.

"The Orange County Registrar of Voters is committed to ensuring equal access to the election process, protecting the integrity of votes, and maintaining a transparent, accurate, and fair election system," said Bob Page, registrar of voters, said in a statement. "We are working diligently to address this incident and keep all staff and members of the public who visit our office safe."

Where things stand in the state

State officials report just over 22.6 million registered voters in the state for this election out about 27 million eligible voters in the state, or about 84%. Those are the highest voter numbers ever.

So far, precincts have reported 13.6 million cast ballots across California, which accounts for a little less than 61% of registered voters. State officials estimate about 5 million ballots remain to be counted statewide, with more possible as mail-in ballots postmarked by Election Day continue to be received.

Keep in mind

Tuesday, Nov. 12, was the final day for votes postmarked by Nov. 5 to arrive at county elections offices. Results will be certified by Dec. 13, 2024.

‘Election Month’ vs. Election Day

Because of the increasing use of vote-by-mail ballots, the vote tally 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. 

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

“We not only moved from ‘Election Day’ to ‘Election Month’, but we have also moved from ‘Election Night’ to ‘Ballot Counting Month,'” wrote CVF's Kim Alexander in 2022.

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