LOS ANGELES — Voters took to the polls throughout California on Tuesday in a primary election that will help determine Los Angeles’ next mayor and prove a test for San Francisco’s progressive prosecutor.
Early turnout was dismal before polling sites opened, and voting numbers showed few signs of progress early Tuesday afternoon. Although every registered voter in the state was mailed a ballot, only 18% had gotten them to election officials or weighed in at early in-person vote centers, according to election data reviewed by consulting firm Political Data Intelligence.
The Los Angeles mayor’s race, the city’s first open mayoral primary in nearly a decade, is among the closest watched on the ballot as city voters — beset by a homelessness crisis, crime and a skyrocketing housing market — signaled they were in a pessimistic mood.
