As Los Angeles County voters were turning in ballots at a brisk pace, an election like no other was taking shape on Tuesday, Nov. 3.
Turnout in Los Angeles County was outpacing the same point in the 2022 midterm election, according to the Los Angeles County Registrar Recorder’s office. The healthy turnout arrives amid a bitter legal batter over control of the vote-counting between the White House and California leaders. Just Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the Trump administration’s 11th-hour demand for California to set aside thousands of disputed mail ballots ahead of tomorrow’s midterm elections.
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The midterm elections are crucial because they will determine which parties hold majorities in both chambers of Congress. An array of significant local, countywide and statewide offices and measures will also be decided.
County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk Dean Logan said that as of 1:15 p.m., roughly 1.9 million ballots have been cast in the county for today’s election, including roughly 1.5 million vote-by-mail ballots and nearly 400,000 people voting in person.
That total represented about 32% of the county’s registered voters. Logan noted that in the 2022 gubernatorial election, overall turnout in the county was 28%, so the county is seeing “healthier turnout than we saw four years ago.”
Things were buzzing at local polling centers, but county officials reported no issues by afternoon.
Some 1,500 folks had turned out through morning hours at the Italian American Club in San Pedro, where officials said the day was going smoothly.
“It’s been very calm,” said Shari Saffore, election lead for the center.
Sean Sevilla, the assistant lead, noted that some voters were using the “poll pass” system, although some have expressed skepticism about the more efficient way to register selections on an in-person ballot.
Many also had utilized early voting this year, Sevilla said.
Among those in line was Adam Adame who said his motivation was “saving our country.”
Dianne Howe said simply it was “my civic duty.”
At Bixby Park in Long Beach lines were long but the day was going smoothly, officials said.
Voter Carina Mills of Long Beach rolled up to the line with her small dog, Mona, on leash.
She always votes in elections, she said, but has taken special care to vote in all of them “especially since 2020.”
“I want to let them know that we’re paying attention,” she said.
Earlier Monday, the Justice Department asked the high court to weigh in and stop California election officials from counting more than 20,000 ballots from people the federal government suspects may be non-citizens.
The request came after a split 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel and a Los Angeles federal judge last week rejected the DOJ’s attempt to obtain a temporary restraining order separating the allegedly ineligible vote-by-mail ballots.
“We decline the United States’ invitation to contravene the Elections Clause by undermining the Constitution’s plain text,” the 9th Circuit panel majority wrote in a 2-1 decision.
In a forceful opinion last week, U.S. District Judge David O. Carter said the federal government’s request “would wreak havoc and disrupt the election that is already underway, create a chilling effect on election workers and voters alike, and discount the votes of United States citizens.”
The judge set an expedited hearing for Nov. 13 in Los Angeles federal court to further explore the matter. Carter said election officials have until Dec. 3 — the date by which election results must be certified — to resolve the issue, suggesting there was no need for an emergency injunction.
Carter, a Bill Clinton appointee who is overseeing the closely watched lawsuit, United States of America v. State of California, et al., previously dismissed a DOJ attempt to force California to turn over its full voter registration list to the federal government.
The Justice Department has sued 30 states that refused to turn over voter data, losing the majority of the cases so far.
The federal government sued California on Oct. 15, more than a week after mail ballots were sent to all registered voters, demanding it set aside 20,000 ballots from alleged non-citizens after the state refused to voluntarily sequester those votes.
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In opposition to the administration’s demand for an injunction, the defendants — Secretary of State Shirley Weber and Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk Dean Logan — argued they lack the mechanisms and legal authority to freeze mail ballots until voters’ citizenship can be verified.
On Thursday, federal prosecutors pursued subpoenas of California state and local election officials in connection with alleged illegal voting in the midterm elections.
“The President of the United States has a loose grip on the law and an even looser grip on reality,” California Attorney General Rob Bonta posted on X on Saturday. “As I’ve said many times, the only election Donald Trump recognizes as valid is one where he wins. There is no widespread voter fraud. The federal government has no right to interfere in California’s elections.”
Amid the legal tussle, and with the nation already bitterly divided for this midterm, Democrats and outside watchdogs planned a massive presence at the polls on Election Day driven by concerns that President Donald Trump will further leverage the vast resources of the federal government to interfere with a midterm that could hobble his final two years in office.
They won’t be the only ones there. A sprawling election protection effort on the left that is expected to deploy tens of thousands of monitors will be met by the largest-ever monitoring program by the Justice Department and still more observers from Republican-aligned groups. The result could be unlike anything seen at the polls in modern times.
The effort among Democratic and nonprofit groups included training volunteers to stand watch outside polling places and report activities they consider concerning. The network includes traditional government watchdogs such as Common Cause and the American Civil Liberties Union plus a flood of volunteers assembled by state Democratic parties, congressional leaders, national activist groups and organizations focused on protecting democracy.
Watching the polls was, as always, a big job. A total of 646 voting centers were open Tuesday. Residents were also taking mail ballots to 429 official drop doxes throughout the county.
At a Long Beach vote center, two women stood off to the side with t-shirts saying “Vote Protector,” an organization that had provided volunteers to keep watch on Tuesday. All was going smoothly, both said.
The charge was “to make sure folks know their rights and there’s no intimidation,” said Maggie Quan.
They’d seen no federal government presence as of the early afternoon, they said.
The issues, said her poll partner, Lillianne Tang, have been especially front and center for this midterm: “Every day gas prices, rent, groceries all go up.”
The scene was especially quiet on the second floor of the Marriott Hotel in Torrance.
Asked what brought him out to vote, one man in line simply pointed to his cap that read “Freedom.”
In recent weeks, activist groups raised concerns about the Trump administration sending law officers and immigration agents to the polls in California. However, while President Trump continued to issue around-the-clock allegations of cheating in the election, administration and military officials have said they have no plans to deploy ICE agents or troops to polling sites.
County Board of Supervisors Chair Hilda Solis urged residents not to refrain from voting Tuesday.
“I am disturbed by Trump’s incessant attempts to interfere with California’s elections,” she said in a statement. “The Ninth Circuit and the federal district court already denied the administration’s multiple attempts to have county ballots set aside. Elections are governed by state and local laws, and Los Angeles County has continued to administer our elections with integrity, prioritizing access for people to exercise their most basic rights.
“The Trump administration’s latest attempt to disrupt our elections should not deter anyone from voting. Los Angeles County Vote Centers are open … and drop boxes remain available across the region for those who want to complete their ballots at home.”
To help get residents to their polling places, LA Metro offered free rides on Election Day. the transit agency waived fares from 4 a.m. Tuesday until 3 a.m. Wednesday. The free rides included all bus and rail service, Metro Micro’s on-demand service and Metro Bike Share, according to the transit agency.
And, yes, even inmates were afforded the opportunity to vote. The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department took steps to allow inmates at several detention facilities to cast ballots
Inmate registration began Sept. 2. The Registrar-Recorder’s office helped prepare voting posters, flyers and registration forms. The forms were delivered Sept. 17-18 to the kitchens at the Central Regional Detention Facility, North County Correctional Facility, Men’s Central Jail and Twin Towers Correctional Facility and included in inmate meal deliveries.
Eligible inmates registered to vote on multiple floors at Men’s Central Jail from Sept. 22-25. Inmates at the North County Correctional Facility also submitted registration forms. All completed forms went to the Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk’s office for processing on Sept. 25.
Voting booths opened at Men’s Central Jail, Central Regional Detention Facility and North County Correctional Facility on Oct. 26. Personnel from the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk’s office staffed the booths on designated days.
Community Transition Unit staff escorted Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk’s office personnel through the facilities so eligible inmates could access the booths and cast ballots.
Sheriff’s officials said mail-in ballots were also collected.
The Associated Press and City News Service contributed to this report.