Ballots are counted at the Los Angeles County Ballot Processing Center on Election Day Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026, in City of Industry, Calif.(AP Photo/William Liang)
Ballot counting was officially underway Tuesday night in California following the 8 p.m. poll close. Roughly 7.8 million, or 33%, of ballots were received statewide as of time of publication.
Most counties will release vote counts in waves shortly after 8 p.m., starting first with ballots that were mailed in and already processed, followed by ballots cast in person.
California is notoriously slow at counting votes, given that over 23 million ballots are sent out, so the key to election night — and the following days — is patience. Some races may be called tonight, while others may take officials more time to work through.
California Secretary of State is Dr. Shirley N. Weber released a statement shortly after polls closed, urging patience and saying that election officials have 30 days to process ballots.
"With the largest electorate in the nation, California election officials prioritize election security ensuring all valid votes are accurately processed. Election results will be available at ElectionResults.sos.ca.gov as each of the 58 counties report to the Secretary of State’s office," Weber said.
Counties must certify their election results by Dec. 4 at the latest. Weber will then certify statewide election results by Dec. 11.
The L.A. County registrar provides live feed of the various stages in ballot processing here: https://www.lavote.gov/home/voting-elections/current-elections/live-feed
See the ongoing count for some major races below.
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