LOS ANGELES — Rep. Karen Bass has widened her lead to more than six percentage points over developer Rick Caruso in the Los Angeles mayor’s race, according to results released Friday by the county registrar-recorder’s office.
Bass has 42.9% to Caruso’s 36.3%, with a vote margin of more than 40,000, the results show. Caruso initially led Bass by five percentage points just after election day.
Most of the ballots from the election will be counted by Tuesday, when the next update will occur, said Registrar-Recorder spokesman Michael Sanchez.
Regardless of the final tally, Bass and Caruso are assured spots in the Nov. 8 runoff because they are the top two finishers and neither will top 50% plus one of the votes cast.
Many L.A. County voters used vote-by-mail ballots and waited to either mail or drop them off at polling places or drop boxes, Sanchez said. Election results are expected to be certified by July 1.
The election was the first at City Hall since a new law went into effect ensuring that every voter receives a ballot, a process designed to bring in more voters and focus less on a single day of in-person voting.
More than 84% of voters who cast ballots in the June 7 election used a mail-in ballot, according to the county.
