logo

Voter Turnout in LA Elections Lowest in City History

image
Author: Blake Bunch
Created: 23 May, 2013
Updated: 14 October, 2022
3 min read
Credit: kcet.org

Voter Turnout in LA Elections

The two-year campaign process in the race for mayor of Los Angeles came to a close on Tuesday. As of 3:00 AM Wednesday, Eric Garcetti was elected mayor of the city.

Garcetti beat out his opponent, Wendy Greuel, with 54 percent of the vote to succeed Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. He will also be the youngest mayor in the city's history.

Despite lowered voter expectations, mayoral candidates Wendy Greuel and Eric Garcetti spent furiously in the last week of campaigning, courting voters in pizza parlors, churches, and all points in between.

A recent poll conducted by the LA Times concluded that Garcetti had initially led Greuel by 48 percent to her 41 percent on the day of the election.

The Times recently reported that this mayoral race has been a costly one, with campaign totals reaching the $33 million mark on Saturday, May 18. The Times further reported that Garcetti had outspent Greuel on radio and television campaign advertisements, though Greuel seemed to garner a wider variety of support from "outside groups."

Why such low voter turnouts?

There was a degreee of apathy surrounding this race as only one in four registered voters turned out on election day. As a rather socially groundbreaking race -- Greuel vying to be the first woman mayor in LA and Garcetti running to be the first Jewish mayor -- it is surprising the degree of indifference among voters.

Also, there were three ballot measures regarding how to regulate medical marijuana dispensaries within city limits. This, if anything, should have attracted more younger voters to the polls. Regardless, this election -- despite negative attack ads from both parties -- garnered little attention in the Southern California metropolis.

Not only was voter turnout low, reports indicate the 2013 elections had the lowest turnout in the city's history.

IVP Existence Banner

Despite facing strong opposition from labor unions in this costly election, mayor-elect Garcetti plans to use his experience in city council to face the $100 million budget gap, as well as address the city's growing pension problem.

“We have to fix basic things, not just patch potholes but pave the streets,” Garcetti told the Times. “We don’t want to just have unemployed people going back to work, but we want to make sure they have a career path.”

Garcetti was unanimously elected LA city council president in 2005 and subsequently reelected in 2007 and 2009. Despite the looming financial problems the city still faces, he feels optimistic about pulling the city out of the recession.

“Los Angeles is ready to put the recession in the rearview mirror and become the city of opportunity that I grew up in once again,” Garcetti told supporters at a LA night club. “It’s time for Los Angeles not just to be a big city, but a great city once again. Whether you’re down and out or whether you’re at the top, we all believe one thing: that L.A. is worth fighting for.”

This mayoral race will have huge implications for not only LA, but the way policy is shaped in Sacramento as well. LA seems to remain a bellwether of public policy for Southern California -- and the rest of the state.

Latest articles

votes
Wyoming Purges Nearly 30% of Its Voters from Registration Rolls
It is not uncommon for a state to clean out its voter rolls every couple of years -- especially to r...
27 March, 2024
-
1 min read
ballot box
The Next Big Win in Better Election Reform Could Come Where Voters Least Expect
Idaho isn't a state that gets much attention when people talk about politics in the US. However, this could change in 2024 if Idahoans for Open Primaries and their allies are successful with their proposed initiative....
21 March, 2024
-
3 min read
Courts
Why Do We Accept Partisanship in Judicial Elections?
The AP headline reads, "Ohio primary: Open seat on state supreme court could flip partisan control." This immediately should raise a red flag for voters, and not because of who may benefit but over a question too often ignored....
19 March, 2024
-
9 min read
Nick Troiano
Virtual Discussion: The Primary Solution with Unite America's Nick Troiano
In the latest virtual discussion from Open Primaries, the group's president, John Opdycke, sat down ...
19 March, 2024
-
1 min read
Sinema
Sinema's Exit Could Be Bad News for Democrats -- Here's Why
To many, the 2024 presidential primary has been like the movie Titanic - overly long and ending in a disaster we all saw coming from the start. After months of campaigning and five televised primary debates, Americans are now faced with a rematch between two candidates polling shows a majority of them didn’t want....
19 March, 2024
-
7 min read