LOS ANGELES — A record number of Los Angeles voters cast ballots for mayor in this month's election, the result of changes in the electoral calendar, the state's easing of voter registration rules and the provocative contest between U.S. Rep. Karen Bass and businessman Rick Caruso, according to analysts and nearly complete returns from county officials.
Bass took advantage of the new political landscape to drub her rival, notching a nearly 10-percentage-point margin. Nearly 978,000 Angelenos cast votes for mayor, surpassing the previous high of 856,000 in the transformative, racially polarizing race in 1969, when the white incumbent, Sam Yorty, defeated his Black challenger, Councilman Tom Bradley.
With L.A.'s population a full 1 million under the 3.8 million it is today — and the total of registered voters only half the 2.2 million of today — the 1969 race drew an astonishing 76% turnout; this year's Bass-Caruso matchup will be about 45%, according to county election officials.
