Election Night in Los Angeles County: Polls Close at 8 p.m., and the Count Runs for Weeks
The first results after 8 p.m. will be built from ballots cast before Election Day; the Registrar then updates results twice a day through Friday, opens the official canvass Wednesday and certifies on Nov. 27 — so close races may not be called tonight.
Los Angeles County's 646 vote centers close at 8 p.m. Tuesday, ending voting in the Nov. 3 general election — but the counting will run for weeks. Ballot drop boxes also close at 8 p.m., and mail ballots postmarked by Election Day and received by Nov. 10 will still be counted, according to county election guidance.
The first batches of results released after the polls close will be made up of votes cast before Election Day, according to the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk's process as reported this cycle. The Registrar plans result updates twice a day from Wednesday, Nov. 4, through Friday, Nov. 6, and then once a day from Nov. 7 onward, as hundreds of thousands of mail and vote-center ballots are processed and verified.
The county begins its official canvass on Wednesday, Nov. 4, and election results are scheduled to be certified on Nov. 27. Because California counts every properly cast ballot before certification, Los Angeles County continues counting mail and other ballots after Election Day, and Tuesday night may not bring a winner in the closest contests — including the mayor's race, where voters decide whether to give Mayor Karen Bass another term or replace her with Councilmember Nithya Raman.
Voters who have not yet cast a ballot can still vote in person at any vote center in the county until 8 p.m., return a completed mail ballot to any vote center or official drop box before 8 p.m., and track their ballot through the state's ballot-tracking service. Anyone in line at a vote center when the polls close at 8 p.m. is still entitled to vote.
