Why this race matters<\/p>\n
Long Beach\u2019s looming budget deficit<\/a>, projected at over $60 million next year, will be a major topic for the mayor and City Council, who will have to decide on potential cuts. Homelessness continues to be a major issue<\/a>, and the mayor has often been the face of Long Beach\u2019s response to the problem. Whether the city\u2019s approach is working or whether it needs new ideas will undoubtedly be a topic of contention.<\/p>\n Campaign finance<\/p>\n Go deeper<\/p>\n Long Beach City Council<\/p>\n What’s at stake<\/p>\n The City Council is Long Beach\u2019s main legislative body. Seats in Districts 1, 3, 5, 7 and 9 are up for election this year. <\/p>\n The council’s nine members are among the most powerful people in the city, deciding how best to spend more than $3 billion each year on key services such as public health, streets and public infrastructure, law enforcement and the Fire Department. Individual council offices are often residents’ first and best point of contact when there\u2019s a neighborhood problem that requires the city\u2019s attention.<\/p>\n Why these races matter<\/p>\n Long Beach\u2019s budget deficit, projected at over $60 million next year, will be a major topic for all council members, who will have to decide on potential cuts. <\/p>\n Homelessness continues to be a major issue, with frequent discussion about encampments along the Los Angeles River, in Lincoln Park and around the Billie Jean King Main Library. <\/p>\n Olympic preparation, including several events in the downtown area, also will undoubtedly be on the agenda.<\/p>\n Go deeper<\/p>\n Long Beach Unified school board<\/p>\n Long Beach Unified School District is one of the largest school districts in the state and the second-largest in Los Angeles County. This election, two seats (in Districts 1 and 5) on the five-person governing board are up for grabs.<\/p>\n Why these races matter<\/p>\n Long Beach Unified has had a tough year. The district is operating at a large deficit due to declining enrollment, rising costs and not enough state and federal funding. As a result, the school board has already authorized tens of millions of dollars in program and position cuts to balance its budget. And the board will have to make more tough decisions next year.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, the district has work to do in order to meet the ambitious academic achievement goals the school board set for June 2028. The district isn\u2019t on track to meet most of these goals, and the board will have to strategize about how to advance student outcomes.<\/p>\n Go deeper<\/p>\n Long Beach city auditor<\/p>\n The auditor is Long Beach\u2019s internal financial watchdog. The core of the auditor\u2019s job is making sure public funds are well-managed and spent as intended.<\/p>\n Why this race matters <\/p>\n An increasing number of Long Beach voters have flagged fraud and waste in city government<\/a> as a major problem, putting even more pressure on the next auditor to deliver on the promise of transparency and accountability.<\/p>\n Go deeper<\/p>\n About the vote count<\/p>\n For LAist’s charts showing vote counts, we get numbers directly from the L.A. County<\/a> and Orange County<\/a> registrars of voters for local races. Totals are updated on our site as soon as possible after the registrars provide new tallies. For statewide races, counts come from the California Secretary of State’s Office<\/a>.<\/p>\n Keep in mind that, in tight races particularly, the winner may not be determined for days or weeks after election day. That’s because early voting and mail-in ballots have fundamentally reshaped how votes are counted and when election results are known<\/a>. In L.A. County, for example, updates on the counting are expected to continue through June 26. After the polls close on election night, expect updates every 15 minutes or so through the early morning hours Wednesday. After that, expect updated counts around 5 p.m. on the following days: June 3, 4, 5, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 16, 18, 24 and 26. Final results must be certified by July 10.<\/p>\n Our priority during the vote count will be sharing outcomes and election calls only when they have been thoroughly checked and vetted by journalists. To that end, we will report when candidates concede and otherwise rely on NPR and the Associated Press for race calls (before official results). We will not report the calls or projections of other news outlets. You can find more about NPR’s and the AP’s process for counting votes and calling races here<\/a>, here<\/a> and here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Tracking your ballot<\/p>\n You can track the status of your ballot through California’s BallotTrax website<\/a>.<\/p>\n If your mail-in ballot has any problems (like a missing or mismatched signature), your county registrar must contact you to give you a chance to fix it.<\/p>\n Official results<\/p>\n![\"visualization\"\/](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/thumbnail.jpeg\")
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