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Ballot returns — November 2 research

November 1 snapshot supplied for this refresh

PDI: 23,228,723 issued; 5,280,139 returned (22%). Democratic 2,679,729 (51% of returns / 45% of registration); Republican 1,483,009 (29% / 25%); NPP/other 1,117,388 (22% / 31%). Ages 65+: 2,630,628 (50%); 50–64: 1,263,867 (24%); 35–49: 781,306 (15%); 18–34: 604,338 (12%). No as-of timestamp is displayed on PDI’s page. These supplied historical figures are not the live totals retrieved November 2.

The supplied earlier LAist snapshot described LA as of November 1 at about 1.4 million processed (~24%, over 5.9 million registered, 90% mail / 10% in person); Orange on November 2 morning at 613,165 (~32%, over 1.9 million registered, 92.1% mail / 7.7% in person), with statewide turnout 23%. The updated article no longer displays those earlier values; they are retained here as a supplied snapshot, not newly verified figures.

Newly retrieved source figures — separate snapshots

PDI retrieved November 2, no source timestamp: 6,481,039 returned (27%) of 23,228,723 issued; Democratic 3,296,856 (51%), Republican 1,786,341 (28%), other 1,397,829 (22%). These are vendor counts, not votes for candidates. Published percentages and totals do not fully reconcile; they are not normalized or combined with official counts.

LAist updated November 2 at 1:13 PM PST: LA more than 1.42 million processed (~24%, 90% mail / 10% in person); Orange 629,610 at midday (~33%, 91.3% mail / 8.5% in person). LAist reports statewide turnout of 25% from its PDI snapshot. Different retrieval times and denominators explain why snapshots should not be combined.

Official VoteCal November 1 PDF: previously unavailable in the supplied research, now readable. It reports 23,451,219 ballots issued, 6,107,024 mail ballots returned, 6,050,237 accepted (99.07%), 299,137 in-person ballots cast and 6,406,161 total cast (27.32% of issued ballots). No party breakdown is supplied. These are administrative counts, not a poll; no survey margin of error applies.

Vendor and official totals do not reconcile and use different dates and definitions. These are early returns, not election results or final turnout. October 30 official and earlier vendor snapshots are preserved below.

Early voting — November 1 update

Official Secretary of State snapshot — October 30, 2026

23,451,053 vote-by-mail ballots issued; 5,396,096 returned; 5,345,579 accepted (99.06% of returned ballots). In-person ballots cast: 149,814. Total ballots cast: 5,545,910, or 23.65% of ballots issued—not final turnout.

Returned by mail: 2,804,153; drop box: 2,282,170; drop-off location: 169,099; vote-center drop-off: 128,843; fax: 11,831.

County total ballots cast: Los Angeles 1,113,076 (18.71%); San Diego 603,635 (29.58%); Orange 509,889 (26.45%). The Secretary of State publishes no party breakdown in this report.

PDI — separate private-vendor snapshot

5,280,139 returned (22%). No as-of time is displayed; approximately October 29, not directly comparable to the October 30 official report. Reported party-registration breakdown: Democratic 2,679,729 (51%); Republican 1,483,009 (29%); NPP/other 1,117,388 (22%). Voters 65+ account for 50% of returns.

These are the vendor’s displayed figures. Party counts do not exactly reconcile with its total and displayed percentages sum above 100%; we have not normalized or combined them with official counts. Party registration does not reveal vote choice. These are administrative/vendor counts, not sample surveys; no poll margin of error applies.

Voting deadlines

Same-day conditional registration continues through November 3 at county elections offices and any in-person voting location. Election Day polls are open 7:00 a.m.–8:00 p.m. Mail ballots must be postmarked by November 3 and received by November 10. Drop boxes accept ballots until 8:00 p.m. November 3.