The chop of helicopters, the buzz of sheriff cruisers and the unsealing of thousands of ballots echo throughout a 144,000-square-foot warehouse, which used to be a Fry’s Electronics.
This — with hundreds of employees — is what gets your ballot counted on the night of Super Tuesday.
For the first time in county history, the Los Angeles Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk (RR/CC) department has centralized all of its ballot processing operations under one roof. The ten million dollar center, located just a 20-minute drive from downtown, oversees every ballot as it leaves a voter’s hands and enters the counter’s.
The move is unprecedented for a registrar whose operations were formerly spread across the county. The RR/CC counted votes at three different sites prior to 2024, some of which they shared with completely separate departments, according to Mike Sanchez, a senior public information specialist for the county.
“While it was secure, it did require us to have to transport those ballots from point A to point B. Now, being under one facility under one roof helps with the efficiency and helps with some of the security as well,” said Sanchez.
He said the process was long, but easing voters’ fears of fraud or miscounting was at the forefront of operations. According to him, this is all in an effort to increase civic participation and trust in local government.
“What we’d like to reinforce as a department is that this is a process for voters. They have a say on what happens locally in their neighborhoods, in the statewide measures but also who represents them — not just at the federal level, but also here locally,” said Sanchez.
Sanchez said transparency matters especially for young voters casting a ballot for the first time this year, and even more so for those who are in the dark about how to vote.
“We’re encouraging folks that if they are eligible to make their voices heard and can cast their ballot, there’s several different ways that someone can vote. We ensure and provide opportunities and access for people to do that,” he said.
After voters cast their ballots, that vote is double- and triple-checked for insurance. Ballots are opened at an ‘extraction’ area, checked for signatures at a ‘verification’ station and finally tabulated at the glass-encased ‘tally operations’ center. Every door, gate and entryway requires keycard access.
Transparency is the buzzword here. Almost every operation is visible from anywhere in the building; whatever centers are walled off, like operations or cybersecurity, have large glass windows for observation. Public visitors are welcomed to roped areas for viewing the process.
A livestream is available 24/7 online for anyone to witness ballots’ tallying, canvassing and verification. Dozens of L.A. County sheriff deputies patrol the facility, most of whom stayed on-site until at least 3 a.m. to ensure votes were received safely.
The RR/CC has long held a relationship with the sheriff’s department in ensuring a secure vote process. This year’s operation only bolstered that.
Sheriffs stationed at the tallying area said their jobs for all of the 12-hour shift were to make sure no one without proper credentials walked through the door.
Others patrolled back and forth to ensure media and observers remained inside boundaries. The majority arrived closer to 10 p.m. in sheriff cruisers and county helicopters with hundreds of ballots in the backseat.
County organizers factored security into every step of the process. The site is cybersecure, with an on-site IT team — the tallying center allows no phones or wi-fi connections to prevent hackers from accessing vote results before they are released.
Over 200 security cameras cover the square footage. Canine dogs sniff every ballot to check for laced drugs, a move organizers said was in reaction to incidents across the country.
This way, the ballots of the 5.6 million Angelenos registered to vote can be counted with confidence. Over 600,000 mail-in votes had been received by March 5, which workers began counting over two weeks ago.
On Election Day evening, votes from more than 400 ballot drop boxes and over 600 vote centers entered the processing center just hours after polling places closed.
The opening also attracted international attention. Observers from Brazil and Argentina came to see the historic moment.
“In Latin America, we don’t have election authorities that are so active in taking input from communities, from NGOs, from academics,” said Eduardo Repilloza Fernández, Director General of Transparencia Electoral. “That was something that caught our attention, the fact that it was designed with input from so many eyes.”
This was the second time that Transparencia Electoral, a non-governmental organization aiming to improve electoral processes, has visited Los Angeles since the midterm elections.
Fernández pointed out two factors that drew them to the city: the size and the system. With nearly 10 million residents, the county is bigger than 40 states. That requires meticulous protocol to ensure citizens’ votes are fairly counted.
The county uses a unique voting instrument to do this. The ballot marking device allows in-person voters to personalize and improve the accessibility of their voting experience. After inserting ballots, voters can translate information into any of 19 languages, increase the text size and listen to candidate platforms with an audio headset. It also leaves a paper trail of documentation for the registrar.
Many working the center tonight were young residents who volunteered out of sheer interest in the process. Leilani Filimaua, a Gen Z’er and a county vote reporter for Edison Research, shared her enthusiasm for the night.
“It’s just a great opportunity to be a part of a democratic election,” said Filimaua. As a county vote reporter, she feeds news organizations like ABC, CNN, and NBC ballot counts throughout the night for the election coverage.
“I care a lot about democratic processes, and I’m really actively participating in creating change for my generation and generations to come,” said Filimaua.
The work for ballot counters is just picking up now. Over the next three weeks, the registrar will post a dozen count updates, an increase from past election years. The RR/CC will tentatively certify final election results on March 29.
Watch this process happen live at lavote.gov/LiveStream.