California election officials reminded voters who participated in last Tuesday's Los Angeles mayoral election that there are 30 days remaining to submit mail-in ballots.
Officials stated that the in-person voting phase has concluded, but the counting process continues and mail-in ballots will be accepted within the designated timeframe. This means the election results will be finalized only after all valid votes are tallied.
Kari Schwimmer, a California election official, told voters that the voting period will continue for another month as the deadline approaches. Schwimmer also noted that while she has the authority to set the end date, it may vary depending on certain conditions.
Initial results showed Republican candidate Spencer Pratt in second place behind incumbent Mayor Karen Bass. After a week of counting mail-in ballots, socialist candidate Nithya Raman reportedly surpassed Pratt, positioning herself ahead of Bass to advance to the general election.
Officials indicated that voting and counting will continue until Raman is officially confirmed in second place. Therefore, the election will remain open until the second-round lineup is finalized.
Schwimmer mentioned that the election could extend for several more weeks, with the conclusion depending on how the results develop. This statement came as vote counting continued into the weekend.
At the time of the report, election officials had declared Karen Bass the winner for the November general election.