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Voter Turnout In LA And OC Might Be Higher Than Usual

By Aaron Mendelson
Published Mar 5, 2020 3:12 PM
Larry Castruita takes a celebratory selfie at the vote center inside Metro headquarters near Union Station. Chava Sanchez / LAist
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Over a million people turned out to vote in Los Angeles County. At least half million voted in Orange County. But there’s still a whole lot of counting to left do in the 2020 primary.

As of Thursday afternoon, votes tallied are good for 23% turnout in L.A. and 31% turnout in Orange County.

But — and this is important — those numbers will rise as more ballots are counted. Some observers are optimistic. Mindy Romero of USC’s California Civic Engagement Project told me:

“I think it’s going to be a very good year for turnout. The question is just how close we get to 2008.”

She's referring to the
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50%-plus turnout at the '08 primaries more than a decade ago.

Romero said to keep in mind that some ballots are in the mail right now. Election officials still haven't counted every vote.

Romero says we could see above-average turnout, even if we don’t hit 2008 numbers.

She added that the issues with long lines at L.A.’s new vote centers need to be worked out before November, when turnout will be much higher.

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