As of Oct. 19, 24% of registered voters in West Hollywood had cast their ballots in the Nov. 3 election, a larger percentage than typically have voted in the entire voting period.
Political Data Inc., which monitors ballot returns, reports that 6,816 ballots from West Hollywood’s 28,924 registered voters have been received by the L.A. County Clerk / Registrar-Recorder’s Office. Twenty-eight percent of the ballots (5,138) were cast by Democrats, 13% (333) by Republicans, and 17% (1,345) by those registered as Independents or members of other parties.
The deadline for registering to vote expired yesterday (Oct. 19). The election is now two weeks away.
The city moved its municipal election date to the date set for national, state, and countywide elections to comply with California Senate Bill 415, which took effect in January 2018. That law required cities with a voter turnout that was 25% less than the average turnout in the four previous statewide elections to move their municipal election to a general election date.
Cities were allowed to hold an upcoming municipal election on its previously scheduled date so long as they planned to consolidate a future election with a statewide election not later than the Nov. 8, 2022, statewide general election. That explains why West Hollywood was able to hold its last election on March 5, 2019.
The percentage of registered voters who participate in the Nov. 3 election is predicted to be high across the country. That is because of the controversy over President Donald Trump. And in California, voting is easier in the upcoming election because the state has mailed ballots to all registered voters.
