On Tuesday, June 5, Los Angeles County held its primary election to determine the California governor, state senate seats, and state assembly seats, among other positions. While some registered voters submitted vote by mail ballots, others who voted in person faced some unforeseen difficulties. In Los Angeles County 118,552 voters were accidentally left off the rosters at their polling places due to a printing error. As a result, many had to cast a provisional ballot.
Many residents are concerned that their votes will not be counted and the candidates who are not moving forward to the general election feel that the ballot error may be behind the losses. The L.A. County Registrar apologized for the inconvenience and assured voters that their ballots will be counted. Former Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa called for L.A. County to keep voting centers open until Friday, June 8 for those whose names were not listed. Until the LA County Registrar’s office announces that the polls will remain open until June 8, below are the results as of press time. The winners of each political party will advance to the general election on November 6, 2018.
Karen Bass
Congresswoman Karen Bass was first elected to the House in 2010. Bass who currently holds a seat in California’s 37 Congressional District faced, Republican candidate Ron Bassilian in the primary election for the 37th Congressional District seat. Both Bass and Bassilian will advance to the general election. Bass received 84.53 percent of the vote and Bassilian received 15.47 percent.
Maxine Waters
Congresswoman Maxine Waters, member of the U.S. House representing California’s 43rd Congressional District, ran for re-election during the primaries against Republicans Frank DeMartini, Edwin Duterte, Omar Navarro, and Green candidate Miguel Angel Zuniga. Waters beat her opponent receiving over 68.2 percent of the vote.
Holly J. Mitchell
In 2014, Senator Holly J. Mitchell was elected to represent the 30th Senate District. This year, Mitchell ran unopposed and will continue to hold her position representing the 30th Senate District.
State Assembly Seats
Reginald Jones-Sawyer
Reginald Jones-Sawyer is a Democratic member representing District 59 in the California State Assembly. This year, Jones-Sawyer is running for re-election in the primaries against Democrat Leslie Hagan-Morgan. Jones-Sawyer beat his opponent receiving 78.58 percent of the votes.
Chris Holden
Chris Holden is a member of the California State Assembly, representing District 41. Holden is running for re-election in the primary against Democratic Kenny Rotter and Independent candidate Alan Reynolds. Holden beat his opponents receiving 63.61 percent of the votes.
Mike Gipson
Mike Gipson ran unopposed and will continue to hold his position representing the 64th Assembly District.
Autumn Burke
Autumn Burke is a member of the California State Assembly representing District 62. Burke ran for re-election in the primaries against Republican Al Hernandez. Burke beat her opponents receiving 75.84 percent of the votes.
Sydney Kamlager-Dove
Sydney Kamlager-Dove is a member of the California State Assembly, representing District 54. Kamlager-Dove ran for re-election in the primaries against Democratic candidates Steve Dunwoody, Breon Dupree Hollie, Lamar Lyons, Tepring Michelle Piquado, and Republican candidate Glen Ratcliff. Kamlager-Dove beat her opponents receiving 51.53 percent of the votes.
Dianne Feinstein
Dianne Feinstein is a member of the U.S. Senate representing the state of California. She was first elected to the Senate in 1992, and is its oldest member. During the primaries, Feinstein ran for re-election and beat her opponents, receiving 42.8 percent of the votes.
Tony Thurmond
Tony Thurmond is a democratic member of the California State Assembly, representing District 15. During the primaries, he ran as a nonpartisan candidate for the Superintendent of Public Instruction of California. Thurmond did not beat his opponents, receiving 32.92 percent of the votes.
Congressional Seats:
–Nannette Barragán is a member of the U.S. House representing the 44th Congressional District of California. Barragán who was elected in 2016, ran for re-election in the primaries against Jazmina Saavedra, Compton Mayor Aja Brown who withdrew, and Stacey Dash who withdrew. Barragán beat her opponents receiving 62.2 percent of the votes.
–Judy Chu is a member of the U.S. House representing California’s 27th Congressional District. Chu ran for re-election against her opponent, Democratic Bryan Witt. Chu beat her opponent receiving 82.92 percent of the votes.
Lieutenant Governor: The primary candidates for the June 5 election include Democratic candidates Jeff Bleich, Cameron Gharabiklou, Ed Hernandez, Eleni Kounalakis; Republican candidates David Fennel, Cole Harris, David Hernandez, Lydia Ortega; Libertarian candidate Tim Ferreira; and no party preference candidates Gayle McLaughlin and Danny Thomas. Hernandez beat his opponents receiving 29.36 percent of the votes.
State Controller: The primary candidates for State Controller are Betty Yee, Incumbent; Republican candidate Konstantinos Roditis, and Peace and Freedom candidate Mary Lou Finely. Yee beat her opponents receiving 66.44 percent of the votes.
Attorney General: The primary candidates for Attorney General are Democrat Xavier Becerra, Incumbent; Democratic candidate Dave Jones, and Republican candidate Steven Bailey and Eric Early. Becerra beat his opponents receiving over 51.38 percent of the votes.
Secretary of State: The primary candidates for Secretary of State are Democratic candidates Alex Padilla, Incumbent, and Reuben Major; Republican candidates Mark P. Meuser, Raul Rodriguez Jr.; Green candidates Michael Feinstein and Erik Rydberg; Libertarian candidate Gail Lightfoot and Peace and Freedom candidate C.T. Weber. Padilla beat his opponents receiving over 57.22 percent of the votes.
Treasurer: The primary candidates for Treasurer are democratic candidates Fiona Ma, Vivek Viswanathan, Republican candidates Greg Conlon and Jack Guerrero, and Peace and Freedom candidate Kevin Akin. Ma beat her opponents receiving over 44.05 percent of the votes.
Insurance Commissioner: The primary candidates for Insurance Commissioner are Democratic candidates Ricardo Lara, Asif Mahmood, Peace and Freedom candidate Nathalie Hrizi, and independent candidate Steve Poizner. Lara beat his opponents receiving over 49.37 percent of the votes.
Board of Equalization: The primary candidates for the Board of Equalization, Third District are Democratic candidates Doug Kriegel, Ben Park, Nancy Pearlman, Scott Svonkin, Cheryl Turner, Tony Vazquez, Republican candidate G. Rick Marshall, and No Party Preference candidate, Micheál “Me-Haul” O’Leary. Marshall beat his opponents receiving 29.63 percent of the votes.
County Assessor: Jeff Prang ran for re-election for the LA County Assessor against John Loew, Krish Kumar and Sandy Sun. Prang beat his opponents receiving 44.32 percent of the votes.
County Sherriff: The candidates for L.A. County Sherriff were retired Undersheriff Paul Tanaka; Long Beach Police Chief Jim McDonnell; Assistant Sheriff James Hellmold; Assistant Sheriff Todd Rogers; Bob Olmsted, a retired sheriff’s commander; Patrick Gomez, a retired sheriff’s lieutenant; and Lou Vince, a senior detective supervisor with the LAPD. During the primaries, McDonnell beat the other challengers receiving 50.80 percent of the votes.
Judicial Seats:
–Office #4- A. Veronica Sauceda- received 45.17 percent of votes
-Office #16-Patricia (Patti) Hunter-received 37.32 percent of votes
-Office #20-Wendy Seagall- received 54.85 percent of votes
-Office #60-Tony J. Cho- received 48.52 percent of votes
-Office #63- Malcolm H. Mackey- received 76.83 percent of votes
-Office #67-Marcia Lucy Armendariz- received 56.93 percent of votes
-Office #71-Danielle R.A. Gibbons- received 55.18 percent of votes
-Office #113-Javier Perez- received 36.12 percent of votes
-Office#118-Troy Davis- received 63.83 percent of votes
-Office #126-Rene Caldwell Gilbertson- received 54.23 percent of votes
-Office #146-Emily Theresa Spear-received 64.58 percent of votes
State Measures
Proposition 68: Parks, Environment, and Water Bond
Proposition 68 passed as of press time with 56.88 percent in favor and 43.12 percent opposed. According to the ballot, the proposition “will authorize $4 billion in general obligation bonds for state and local parks, environmental protection and restoration projects, water infrastructure projects, and flood protection projects. Assuming a 3.5 percent interest rate over a 30-year period, the bond issue would generate $2.53 billion in interest, meaning the state would spend $6.53 billion to pay off the bond issue.”
Proposition 69: Transportation Taxes and Fees Lockbox and Appropriations Limit Exemption Amendment
Proposition 69 passed as of press time with 82.06 percent in favor and 17.94 opposed. According to the ballot, the proposition “will not affect anything. SB 1, which was also known as the Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017, enacted an estimated $5.2 billion-a-year increase in transportation-related taxes and fees, including a $0.12 cents per gallon increase of the gasoline excise tax, a $0.20 cents per gallon increase of the diesel excise tax, a 4 percentage points increase of the diesel sales tax, an annual $25 to $100 Transportation Improvement Fee, and an annual $100 zero-emission vehicles fee.”
Proposition 70: Vote Requirement to Use Cap-and-Trade Revenue Amendment
Proposition 70 did not passed as of press time with 61.93 percent opposed and 38.07 percent in favor. According to the ballot, the proposition will “require a one-time two-thirds vote in each chamber of the California State Legislature to use revenue from the State Air Resources Board’s auctioning or sale of greenhouse gas emissions allowances under the state’s cap-and-trade program. To make sure no revenue is spent without the two-thirds vote, the measure would place all revenue from the cap-and-trade program in a Greenhouse Gas Reduction Reserve Fund beginning on January 1, 2024. The vote would take place anytime on or after January 1, 2024. Revenue would collect in this reserve fund until the one-time two-thirds vote occurred. If legislators failed to secure a two-thirds vote, revenue would keep collecting in the reserve fund and the state would be unable to spend the revenue. Between January 1, 2024, and the passage of the spending bill, the measure would also suspend a sales tax exemption for manufacturers, increasing tax revenue about $260 million per year. If legislators succeed at securing a two-thirds vote, revenue would begin to fill the non-reserve Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, which requires a simple majority vote to use money from.”
Proposition 71: Effective Date of Ballot Measures Amendment
Proposition 71 passed as of press time with 78.44 percent in favor and 21.56 percent opposed. According to the ballot, the proposition will “move the effective date of ballot propositions to the fifth day after the secretary of state certifies election results, rather than the day after the election. As of 2018, the secretary of state was required to certify election results no later than the 38th day after the election. For example, when voters approved Proposition 64 on November 8, 2016, the recreational use of marijuana became legal under state law on November 9, 2016. If Proposition 64 was approved under the process outlined by Proposition 71, the recreational use of marijuana would have become legal on December 17, 2016.”
Proposition 72: Rainwater Capture Systems Excluded from Property Tax Assessments Amendment
Proposition 72 passed as of press time with 83.41 percent in favor and 16.59 percent opposed. According to the ballot, the proposition will “allow the California State Legislature to exclude rainwater capture systems added to properties after January 1, 2019, from counting as new construction.[1]When a property owner adds new construction to his or her property, the new construction is assessed for taxable value. Adding a rainwater capture system to one’s property counts as a new construction. As the ballot measure would exclude rainwater capture systems from the definition of new construction, the taxable value of a property would not increase because the property owner added a rainwater capture system. Legislation associated with Proposition 72 would define rainwater capture systems as facilities designed to capture, retain, and store rainwater flowing off rooftops or other manmade aboveground hard surfaces for onsite use.”