In Los Angeles, one of the most important numbers in the 2026 mayoral election may not be the number of votes either candidate receives.
It may be the number of registered voters who cast no ballot at all.
Four years ago, 2,120,515 people were registered to vote in the city of Los Angeles for the November 2022 general municipal election. The Los Angeles City Clerk’s official 2022 election results report 952,389 ballots cast, for a turnout rate of 44.91%.
That means 1,168,126 registered voters did not cast a ballot.
More registered Angelenos did not vote than voted.
Karen Bass received 509,944 votes and Rick Caruso received 420,030. Together, the two mayoral candidates received 929,974 votes, according to the City Clerk’s certified election results.
The number of registered voters who did not participate was larger.
That does not tell us why they did not vote.
It does tell us something important about Los Angeles elections: the people who participate are only part of the city’s registered electorate.
The 2022 mayoral election produced a competitive race, but fewer than half of the city’s registered voters participated.
The math is straightforward:
Registered voters: 2,120,515
Ballots cast: 952,389
Did not cast a ballot: 1,168,126
Turnout: 44.91%
The 1.17 million figure is not an estimate of people who were uninterested in the election.
It is simply the number of registered voters who did not cast a ballot.
That distinction matters.
Parriva previously examined the candidates and the stakes of that election in its coverage of Karen Bass’ path to Los Angeles City Hall. We reported priviously on the political landscape surrounding Bass and the concerns facing communities across Los Angeles in its earlier coverage of the mayoral race.
Turnout reveals another part of the election story: the electorate that never entered the voting booth.
Election results can show us who voted and how they voted. They cannot, by themselves, tell us why someone stayed home.
Some people may not have been interested in the candidates. Some may have been busy, unaware of the election, uncertain about their choices or unable to complete a ballot.
The data do not tell us which explanation applies to any individual voter.
Los Angeles now has another mayoral election ahead.
Mayor Karen Bass and Councilmember Nithya Raman advanced to the November runoff after the June primary. The Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk’s election information lists Nov. 3, 2026 as Election Day.
The current campaign also has a large group of voters who are different from the 1.17 million nonparticipants in 2022.
A September UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies poll, co-sponsored by the Los Angeles Times, found 39% of likely Los Angeles voters supporting Raman, 28% supporting Bass and 33% undecided.
The survey included 2,150 likely city voters and had a margin of error of about three percentage points.
That 33% should not be confused with the 1.17 million people who did not vote in 2022.
They measure two different things.
The 2022 number describes registered voters who did not participate in a completed election.
The 2026 polling number describes people identified by the pollsters as likely voters who had not yet selected a candidate.
One group did not vote.
The other says it expects to vote but has not made a candidate choice.
Those are not the same voters.
The June 2026 primary also showed that participation can change from one election to another.
But turnout comparisons have to be made carefully.
Countywide turnout figures describe a different electorate from the registered voters in the City of Los Angeles, so they should not be treated as a direct city-to-city comparison.
The important point is simpler:
The size and composition of the electorate can change between elections.
And the November mayoral election will ultimately provide the number that matters most for this story: how many registered Los Angeles voters actually participate.
It is tempting to look at a mayoral race through the candidates.
Who is ahead?
Who is gaining?
Who has the most support?
Those numbers matter to campaigns and voters. But turnout creates another way to understand the election.
In 2022, 1,168,126 registered voters did not cast a ballot for mayor.
That was more people than voted for either candidate and more people than the two candidates’ combined vote totals.
The 2026 election will show whether that pattern changes.
It will not tell us why individual people voted or did not vote. But it will tell us how large the participating electorate was.
That is a number worth watching.
What Angelenos should know now
The November election is approaching quickly.
According to the Los Angeles County voting calendar, Vote by Mail ballots begin going out Oct. 1. The voter-registration deadline is Oct. 19. Select Vote Centers open Oct. 24, all Vote Centers open Oct. 31, and Election Day is Nov. 3.
Registered county voters can return Vote by Mail ballots by mail, at participating ballot drop boxes or at a Vote Center. The county’s official Vote by Mail information explains the available options.
For voters who want to check registration, voting options and election information, the county’s official election resources provide the most current information.
Los Angeles entered the 2026 mayoral election with a history of relatively low municipal turnout and a 2022 election in which more than 1.1 million registered voters did not cast a ballot.
Now another mayoral election is underway.
The September poll shows that many likely voters were still undecided. The voting calendar shows that ballots are about to reach voters. And the final election results will eventually show how many registered Angelenos participated.
The 2026 mayoral election will be decided by the people who vote.
But one of the most revealing numbers may be the people who don’t.
In 2022, that number was 1,168,126.
The question for 2026 is how much that number changes.
