Los Angeles Voter Guide: What's On The March 5, 2024 Ballot

LOS ANGELES, CA — The 2024 presidential primary election season in California is officially underway, but the real excitement in California comes in the form of down-ballot races.

The election is March 5, but most Golden State residents already have their mail-in ballots in hand.

With presidential frontrunners former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden expected to win their nominations handily, all eyes in California are on the hotly contested primary race for the seat vacated by the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein as well as a slew of local races.

Measure HLA

Namely, Los Angeles voters will decide on one referendum, Measure HLA, which would require the city to install or change certain safety features — such as sidewalks, bike lanes or bus lanes — when crews are already working on a street, such as for a paving project.

District Attorney

Another major race being closely watched is the battle to unseat incumbent Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón. An historic 11 candidates are vying for the controversial progressive prosecutor's seat.

RELATED: 11 Candidates Battle Gascón To Become LA County's Top Prosecutor

Since instituting policies barring the pursuit of the death penalty and trying youths as adults along with a shift away from longer prison sentences, Gascón has become a lightning rod for his progressive approach.

Perceived as vulnerable with an electorate frustrated by the pandemic-era spike in violent crime, follow-home robberies and high profile smash and grab mobs, Gascón found himself facing a large field of contenders. Among his challengers are several L.A. County deputy district attorneys, federal prosecutors and judges who have lambasted him as unfit for office.

They include:

• Debra Archuleta
• Jeff Chemerinsky
• Jonathan Hatami
• Nathan Hochman
• Dan Kapelovitz
• Lloyd "Bobcat" Masson
• John McKinney
• David Milton
• Craig Mitchell
• Maria Ramirez
• Eric Siddall

Los Angeles City Council, School Board and County Supervisor Races

Los Angeles voters face a very full ballot, there are seven City Council seats open including Districts 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12 and 14. Angelenos are also being asked to choose four board members for the Los Angeles Unified School District including Districts 1, 3, 5, 7.

There are three seats open on the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors including districts 2, 4, and 5.

Proposition 1

In 2004, California voters approved a tax on millionaires to finance mental health services. The tax raises $2-$3 billion annually to fund mental health programs through local government. Proposition 1 would require counties to spend 60 percent of the money on housing and programs for homeless people with serious mental illnesses or substance abuse problems.

Related: CA Proposition Aims To Tackle Homelessness; Some Worry It'll Worsen It

Presidential Primary

The primary will decide which candidate gets California's 169 delegates — the largest haul of any state — to the Republican and Democratic national conventions, to be held in July and August, respectively.

All three top contenders have been stumping in California. President Joe Biden and Republican contender Nikki Haley visited Southern California earlier this month. GOP frontrunner Donald Trump campaigned in the Golden State days after skipping the Republican debate in September.

There were notable changes to California's primary this year. It moved up from June to Super Tuesday in March with 13 other states.

In California, the political parties determine whether they will have open or closed presidential parties, meaning only the party's registered voters can pick the winning candidates.

The Green Party, the Peace and Freedom Party, and the Republican Party are all holding closed primaries in California

Furthermore, the state's GOP changed the rules to winner-takes-all, so that any candidate who gets a majority wins all of the delegates. Previously, the delegates were divided up based on the number of congressional districts each Republican won.

The change, pushed by the Donald Trump campaign, raises the stakes in California's primary and favors the frontrunner in the Republican primary, which also happens to be Trump.

The American Independent Party, the Democratic Party, and the Libertarian Party hold a modified-closed primary, which means they allow No Party Preference voters to vote in their primaries.

Click here to check your voter and party registration status.

Statewide Primary Elections

All 52 of California's congressional districts will have primary races March 5 along with one U.S. Senate race. With frontrunners Trump and Biden expected to sail to victory in California's presidential primary, the real suspense centers on the Golden State's senate race

.For the senate race, California has an open primary, which means only the top two vote-getters in the primary election, regardless of party affiliation, move on to the general election. All election season, polls have shown Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank) in the lead with former Los Angeles Dodger Steve Garvey (R), Rep. Katie Porter (D-Irvine ), and Rep. Barbara Lee (Oakland) vying for second place to make it into the general election.

However, last week Garvey pulled into first place after consolidating conservative support and with a little help from an ad campaign by Schiff aimed at raising Garvey's profile over Porter, who is seen as the bigger threat in the general election.According to a new polls from UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies, Garvey pulled into first place with the support of 27 percent of likely voters compared to Schiff's 25 percent and Porter's 19 percent.

Just weeks earlier a California Elections and Policy Poll released in February had Porter and Garvey deadlocked in the race for second place. Schiff went into February far in the lead with 25 percent of likely voters while Porter and Garvey, each garnered support from 15 percent of likely voters. Lee was polling in fourth place at 7 percent of the vote, according to the poll.

It's been decades since a Republican won statewide office in California, and that may be why the Schiff campaign is expending considerable capital to raise Garvey's profile among Republican voters through a series of expensive Fox News ads, touting him as too conservative for California.Garvey, with just over $300,000 in his war chest, can't afford such ads.Porter blasted the tactic as a “brazenly cynical” bid for Schiff to handpick his opponent in the general election, counting on deep blue California to reject any statewide Republican candidate in the general election.

According to Politico, Porter and Schiff booked a staggering $25 million in airtime. Schiff has nabbed the bulk of the Democratic establishment endorsements such as Nancy Pelosi, United Farm Workers and the Los Angeles Times editorial board. Porter, a darling of progressives, garnered endorsements from Sen. Elizabeth Warren, CA Attorney General Rob Bonta, and consumer advocacy groups.

The senate candidates are:

• Sharleta Bassett (R)
• James P. Bradley (R)
• Eric Early (R)
• Steve Garvey (R)
• Denice Gary-Pandol (R)
• Laura Garza (No party preference)
• Sepi Gilani (D)
• Don Grundmann (No party preference)
• Forrest Jones (American Independent Party of California)
• Harmesh Kumar (D)
• Barbara Lee (D)
• Sarah Sun Liew (R)
• Gail Lightfoot (L)
• James Macauley (R)
• Christina Pascucci (D)
• David Peterson (D)
• Douglas Howard Pierce (D)
• Katie Porter (D)
• Perry Pound (D)
• Raji Rab (D)
• Jonathan Reiss (R)
• John Rose (D)
• Mark Ruzon (No party preference)
• Adam Schiff (D)
• Stefan Simchowitz (R)
• Major Singh (No party preference)
• Martin Veprauskas (R)
• Eduardo Berdugo (Independent) (Write-in)
• Danny Fabricant (R) (Write-in)
• Roxanne Lawler (R) (Write-in)

How To Vote

California voters have three options to vote.

Mail in ballot: Voters can mail in the ballots they received in the mail by signing them, sealing them and placing them in either a mailbox or an approved drop box. Approved drop box locations are listed on county websites. Google “drop box locations” and your county, and a list should pop up.

Early voting: Each county will have at least one location where voters can vote in person or drop off ballots at least 10 days before primary election day. See here to find your nearest early voting location.

Traditional in-person voting: Polls will open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on March 5. See here to find your polling location. Polling locations will also be mailed to voters with their ballots.

2024 Election: Endorsements And Voter Guides

• CalMatters
• East Bay Times
• Los Angeles Times
• The Orange-County Register
• The San Diego-Union Tribune
• Sacramento Bee
• San Francisco Chronicle
• California Secretary of State Voter Guide
• California Democratic Party Endorsements
• California Republican Party Endorsements

Key 2024 Election Dates In California

Here’s what you need to know about the 2024 election calendar in California:

• Election day is March 5, but early voting centers will open Feb. 24.
• Feb. 5 was the deadline for county officials to begin mailing each registered voter a vote-by-mail ballot.
• The last day to register to vote in the election is Feb. 20. Click here to register to vote.
• Vote-by-mail ballot requests must arrive by February 27, 2024. Check your county election office website to request a vote-by-mail ballot if you have not received one yet.
• All votes must be cast by March 5 and received by election officials by March 12.

Mail-in voters in California now have a way to track their ballots to make sure their votes are counted. The California Secretary of State is now offering Where’s My Ballot? for voters to track and receive notifications on the status of their vote-by-mail ballot.

With Where’s My Ballot? Voters who sign up will receive notices via email, text, or voice message from the county elections official regarding the status of the voter's vote-by-mail ballot including:

• When the ballot has been delivered
• The date that the voter's ballot is expected to be delivered to the voter
• If the voter's ballot is returned as undeliverable to the county elections official by the USPS
• When the voter's completed ballot has been received by the county
• Whether the voter's completed ballot has been accepted or a reason why the ballot could not be accepted and instructions of steps the voter can take in order to have the ballot accepted
• The deadline for the voter to return his or her ballot if the county has not received a voter's completed ballot by specified dates as determined by the county elections officials

Patch Staffer Michael Wittner contributed to this report.