{"id":341545,"date":"2026-06-01T15:52:19","date_gmt":"2026-06-01T15:52:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/341545\/"},"modified":"2026-06-01T15:52:19","modified_gmt":"2026-06-01T15:52:19","slug":"what-last-minute-voters-should-know-about-the-california-primary-nbc-los-angeles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/341545\/","title":{"rendered":"What last-minute voters should know about the California primary \u2013 NBC Los Angeles"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>What to Know<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbclosangeles.com\/tag\/decision-2026\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Primary Election Day<\/a> is Tuesday in California, where voters will decide races for governor, Los Angeles mayor and other contests. Once they&#8217;re filled out and signed, ballots can be returned to the county elections office\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.lavote.gov\/home\/voting-elections\/voting-options\/vote-by-mail\/how-to-vote-by-mail\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">by mail<\/a>\u00a0or dropped at an official\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.lavote.gov\/home\/voting-elections\/voting-options\/vote-by-mail\/vbm-ballot-drop-off\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">ballot drop box<\/a>. Ballots also can be submitted at a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.lavote.gov\/home\/voting-elections\/voting-options\/voting-in-person\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">vote center<\/a>, all of which are open in Los Angeles County. Check the status of your vote-by-mail ballot\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sos.ca.gov\/elections\/ballot-status\/wheres-my-ballot\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The hours are ticking down to Election Day in Southern California when voters will help narrow down races for California governor, Los Angeles mayor and more in the statewide <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbclosangeles.com\/news\/politics\/2026-california-primary-election-mayor-governor-race\/3897468\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">June primary<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Election Day is Tuesday, when the county&#8217;s 5.8 million registered voters have a last chance to cast ballots. In addition to the closely watched races for governor and mayor, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbclosangeles.com\/news\/california-news\/california-primary-election-state-offices\/3890479\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">other statewide offices<\/a>, U.S. House seats, local ballot measures, city council contests and more are on the ballot.<\/p>\n<p>County election officials encouraged voters to review their ballots carefully and vote early, noting the ballot includes a large number of contests and candidates. The governor&#8217;s race alone has more than 60 candidates on the ballot. <\/p>\n<p>&#8220;With all L.A. County Vote Centers open this weekend, voters have many convenient options to cast their ballot early,&#8221; Dean C. Logan, Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder\/County Clerk, said in an earlier statement. &#8220;Avoid the rush, make a plan to vote early this weekend or Monday at a location that&#8217;s convenient for you.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Here&#8217;s what voters should know.<\/p>\n<p>How to find a Los Angeles County vote center<\/p>\n<p>A list and map of vote center locations are available <a href=\"https:\/\/locator.lavote.gov\/locations\/vc?culture=en\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">here<\/a>. Enter an address in the upper left search field to find a location near you. <\/p>\n<p>When are LA County vote centers open?<\/p>\n<p>The vote centers that opened Saturday in Los Angeles County are in addition to 122 that opened on May 23. They will be open daily from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. for in-person voting, voter registration and vote-by-mail ballot returns. <\/p>\n<p>On Election Day, June 2, the centers will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.<\/p>\n<p>Voter information for other Southern California counties is available below.<\/p>\n<p>Voters also can track their ballots using\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.lavote.gov\/av_inquiry\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">this tool<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Casting your ballot in the primary election<\/p>\n<p>If a ballot is postmarked by Election Day on June 2 and received within seven days, LA County elections officials will process, verify and count that ballot. The Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder\/County Clerk recommended mailing ballots at least seven days prior to Election Day.<\/p>\n<p>Here&#8217;s what to check before returning the ballot.<\/p>\n<p>Place your voted ballot card(s) inside the official return envelope.<\/p>\n<p>Securely seal the official return envelope.<\/p>\n<p>Sign and date the back of the official return envelope.<\/p>\n<p>How to find a ballot drop box in Los Angeles County<\/p>\n<p>The county offers a searchable map\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/locator.lavote.gov\/locations\/vbm?culture=en\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">here<\/a>. Here&#8217;s what to know about the drop box program, which started in 2017.<\/p>\n<p>Drop boxes are available to voters beginning 29 days before and on Election Day.<\/p>\n<p>Drop boxes close at 8 p.m. on Election Day.<\/p>\n<p>Drop boxes are bolted securely into cement or chained in place.<\/p>\n<p>Drop boxes are designed with security features identified in state regulations.<\/p>\n<p>Drop boxes have an exterior coating to reduce permanent graffiti or damage.<\/p>\n<p>Ballots are picked up regularly by two election workers.<\/p>\n<p>The county works with law enforcement agencies, cities, local stakeholders, and community-based organizations to monitor and safeguard all boxes.<\/p>\n<p>What if I missed the voter registration deadline?<\/p>\n<p>California offers same-day voter registration, which allows people to register at vote centers, then cast a provisional ballot. Anyone registering to vote less than 15 days before an election will need to complete the same-day registration process and request a ballot in person at a county polling location.<\/p>\n<p>Voters who conditionally register will, in most cases, cast a provisional ballot. Once county elections officials process the registration and validates the information, registration becomes permanent and the provisional ballot will be counted.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sos.ca.gov\/elections\/voter-registration\/same-day-reg\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Click here<\/a>\u00a0for more information about same-day registration.<\/p>\n<p>Where&#8217;s my ballot?<\/p>\n<p>Check the status of your vote-by-mail ballot\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sos.ca.gov\/elections\/ballot-status\/wheres-my-ballot\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>How does the California primary work?<\/p>\n<p>California uses a top-two election format in which only the two leading vote-getters advance to the November general election, regardless of party affiliation. Even if one candidate receives a majority of all votes cast in the primary election, two still advance to the General Election in November.<\/p>\n<p>The only exceptions are candidates for State Superintendent of Public Instruction or candidates for voter-nominated offices in special elections.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"What to KnowPrimary Election Day is Tuesday in California, where voters will decide races for governor, Los Angeles&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":279011,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[7,9,8,38024],"class_list":["post-341545","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-california","tag-california","tag-california-headlines","tag-california-news","tag-decision-2026"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/341545","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=341545"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/341545\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/279011"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=341545"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=341545"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=341545"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}