LOS ANGELES, CA – Mayor Karen Bass and City Councilmember Nithya Raman spent the final weekend and Monday campaigning across Los Angeles in a mayoral race that the latest UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies poll showed tied, with voters deciding the contest Tuesday.
The poll, released Oct. 28, found each candidate at 40% among likely voters, with 19% undecided. Los Angeles holds its General Municipal Election Tuesday, Nov. 3, after the June 2 primary nominating election, according to the Los Angeles City Clerk’s Election Division.
Vote centers are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Election Day, according to the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk, which conducts the election for the city.
Both campaigns held events through the weekend and had more scheduled Monday, Nov. 2, as they sought to reach the undecided voters.
Poll shows candidates tied at 40%
The survey measured the preferences of likely voters during a specific period. It is a snapshot, not a count of votes, and it does not predict the outcome.
In a September poll from the same institute, Raman led Bass 38% to 28%. In the October survey, the two candidates were level at 40%.
Undecided voters are concentrated among people who backed Spencer Pratt in the June primary. Among those voters, support for Bass rose from 22% in September to 41% in the latest poll, while Raman’s support stayed at 14%.
Pollster Mark DiCamillo said 45% of Pratt’s primary voters remained undecided.
Bass and Raman advanced from the June primary
Bass finished first in the June 2 primary with 34.3% of the vote, according to reported tallies. Raman was second with 29.0% and Pratt third with 25.5%.
Raman overtook Pratt for second place as additional ballots were counted after election night, and she advanced to the general election. After the results, she said she and her campaign were encouraged by the vote count and grateful to the thousands of Angelenos who powered it.
Raman represents District 4 on the City Council and entered the mayoral race in February.
The county registrar certified the final results of the primary on June 26, the first day counties were permitted to certify under the timeframe prescribed in the California Elections Code. Countywide, 2,227,461 ballots were processed and counted, and voter participation was 37.81%.
Weekend campaigning across the city
On Sunday, Nov. 1, Bass voted in Koreatown with her family and spoke to reporters afterward. She said Los Angeles would become much more affordable in four years because the 47,000 housing units in the pipeline would be finished.
Bass also said Raman’s police plans “would be chaos from day one.”
Later Sunday, Bass visited South L.A. Cafe to speak with alumnae of the Divine Nine, gave a radio interview and attended services at four churches and one Sikh temple.
Raman began Sunday in Boyle Heights at Dolores Mission Catholic Church. She then rallied volunteers in the San Fernando Valley, stressing housing and tenant protections.
Raman told supporters that “we can actually fight for a more affordable Los Angeles…that protects renters.”
Monday events in Sylmar, Pacoima and Westwood
Bass signed an ordinance supporting a second fire station in Sylmar at 10 a.m. Monday, with Councilmember Monica Rodriguez. She then campaigned at Homeboy Industries in Chinatown with gubernatorial candidate Xavier Becerra.
At 1:15 p.m., Bass cut the ribbon on permanent supportive housing for transition-age foster youth in Pacoima, with former Rep. Tony Cárdenas. The project was accelerated through her Executive Directive 1.
Bass planned to meet business owners in historic Filipinotown with Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martínez and to visit volunteers in South Los Angeles. Her evening schedule included a vigil honoring Dolores Huerta with the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor.
Raman’s Monday schedule included a get-out-the-vote event at UCLA in Westwood. The event was organized by UAW 4811, which represents 60,000 University of California workers.
Homelessness and housing at the center
The campaign has centered on homelessness, housing affordability, Palisades Fire recovery, LAPD staffing and preparations for the 2028 Olympics.
In her closing pitch Monday, Bass said: “I know that we can get rid of all the major encampments off our streets, I know that our city can be safer. We need to have more police officers and, most important, I know that our city can be affordable.” Bass has cited a 17.5% reduction in street homelessness.
The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority published its 2026 homeless count on July 24. It estimated 45,194 people experiencing homelessness in the City of Los Angeles, a 3.4% increase.
Unsheltered homelessness in the city rose 7.9% to an estimated 29,115 people. Countywide, the estimate rose 1.2% to 73,040 people.
The authority said that after two consecutive years of drops, “regional progress stalled.”
Endorsements and campaign claims
Bass has said the city has the lowest homicide rate in 60 years. That is a campaign claim, and Raman has made housing and tenant protections the focus of her closing appeals.
According to initial reports, Bass has the backing of the Los Angeles County Democratic Party, labor unions and the police league. Raman is endorsed by the Democratic Socialists of America, Progressive LA and Unite HERE Local 11.
Vote centers open until 8 p.m.
The county opened 123 vote centers on Saturday, Oct. 24, for the Nov. 3 general election. They were open daily from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. for in-person voting, voter registration and vote-by-mail ballot returns.
On Election Day, vote centers operate from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. The county’s locator shows vote center and drop box locations.
Eligible voters who have not registered can visit any vote center, complete a conditional voter registration and cast a ballot in this election, according to the county’s announcement.
Results will be reported in stages
The registrar said in a media and Election Day briefing notice that election night results will be reported in stages. The first release is at about 8:30 p.m. Nov. 3, and the stages continue until semi-final results are posted once all Election Day ballots are counted.
Ballot processing runs 24 hours a day from Election Night through Friday, Nov. 6, with multiple results updates posted each day. The registrar will hold an Election Day media briefing at 2 p.m. Tuesday at the Ballot Processing Center.
After vote centers close at 8 p.m., all voted ballots are sealed, secured and taken by sheriff’s deputies to the Ballot Processing Center for central tabulation, according to the registrar’s certification page.
Ballots counted after Election Day include mail ballots received within seven days, provisional ballots and ballots that need review.
Registrar responds to Justice Department lawsuit
County Registrar Dean C. Logan responded Oct. 15 to a U.S. Department of Justice lawsuit concerning voter records. In a statement, Logan said that “with voting already underway, our focus remains on conducting a safe, secure, accurate, and transparent General Election.”
Logan said the Department of Justice “has not provided the underlying evidence, source, or methodology supporting its assertions that individuals identified in its records are ineligible to vote.” He said the county is coordinating with the California Secretary of State, the Attorney General and its counsel while it administers the election.
Other offices and measures on the ballot
The November ballot also includes the races for City Attorney and Council Districts 3 and 9, along with eight city measures, according to the City Clerk. The mayoral term that follows begins Dec. 14, 2026, and lasts four years.
The City Clerk’s voter information pamphlet for the election covers the city charter amendment measures, among them Measure LA, PL, EE, PRK and PRT.
Certification is due by Dec. 3
No official results exist until polls close at 8 p.m. Tuesday. State law requires the county to complete and certify results within 30 days, and the county’s last day to certify results for the General Municipal Election is Dec. 3.
Until then, the count continues each day through the weekend, and the new mayoral term is set to begin Dec. 14.
