On December 5th, the election results were confirmed in various counties in California, and the Secretary of State’s office will make the final determination on December 13th. Spanning from election day on November 5th to December 5th, this election has been the longest in California’s history, consuming a significant amount of manpower and resources. Could this become a fixed pattern for elections in California?
According to the Secretary of State’s website updated on the morning of December 5th at 10:16, California has nearly 22.6 million registered voters, with a total of approximately 16.1 million ballots cast, leading to a voter turnout of 71.4%. This surpasses the voter turnout of 70.88% in the 2020 election, with over 17.8 million voters participating in 2020.
Compared to the 35% voter turnout during the primary in March, the voter turnout in the November election was considerably higher. There were around 22.1 million registered voters during the primary, indicating an additional 530,000 newly registered voters for the November election.
California is comprised of 58 counties, with six counties having over 1 million registered voters each, significantly impacting the results of state propositions and congressional elections.
Los Angeles County has the highest number of registered voters, exceeding 5.7 million, accounting for a quarter of California’s total registered voters at 25.43%. The voter turnout for the county in this year’s election was 66.0%, with over 3.79 million voters participating. The voter turnout during the March primary was only 29%, with 1.64 million voters.
San Diego County follows with the second-highest number of registered voters at over 1.98 million, representing 8.77% of California’s total registered voters. The voter turnout in the county for the November election was 75.8%, with over 1.5 million voters casting their ballots; in the March primary, the voter turnout was 36%, with 703,271 voters participating.
Orange County ranks third in terms of registered voters, with a total of 1.86 million, making up 8.24% of California’s total registered voters. The voter turnout for Orange County in the November election was 76.1%, with over 1.41 million voters participating. During the March primary, the voter turnout was 37%, with over 703,000 voters casting their ballots.
Riverside County comes in fourth, with over 1.37 million registered voters and a voter turnout of 69.9% in the November election, compared to 30% during the March primary.
San Bernardino County ranks fifth, with over 1.19 million registered voters, and a voter turnout of 64.4% in the general election and a low 26% during the primary.
Santa Clara County is in sixth place, boasting over 1.04 million registered voters, with a voter turnout of 73% in November and 37% in March.
Since 2020, California has been mailing ballots to all registered voters in advance, a measure initially influenced by the outbreak of COVID-19. For the November 2024 election, California began mailing ballots to all voters a month ahead, elongating the entire election process to over two months.
Notably, over 6.45 million individuals did not vote in the November election, and close to 14.36 million did not participate in the March primary.
In Los Angeles County alone, over 1.95 million individuals did not cast their votes in the November election, while approximately 4 million registered voters did not vote in the March primary.
Similarly, in San Diego County, over 479,000 people abstained from voting in the November election, and around 1.22 million did not vote in the March primary.
Orange County saw over 444,000 non-voters in the November election and over 1.13 million non-voters during the March primary.
Considering the recruitment and training of temporary staff starting in September or October in various counties, additional processes such as signature verification, adjudication, vote duplication, and 1% manual ballot verification due to processing mail-in ballots, the 2024 primary and general election demanded significant resources and time, funded by taxpayers.
California categorizes non-voting individuals as “inactive voters,” marking those who have not participated in two consecutive federal elections. Orange County specified that they would not send mail-in ballots to the addresses of such voters. The integrity organization EPIC has long advocated for the cleanup of the voter database, hoping that after the elections, counties can begin verifying and organizing voter registration data, eventually consolidating it into California’s voter registration database.