Voting underway for midterm elections

Election day 2026 has arrived and the polls across Los Angeles County are open. So we kick off our election day coverage with Gigi Gracia, Gigi live in Norwalk with what voters need to know before they cast their ballots. How's it looking this morning? Pretty steady, right? That's right, the polls are open and extremely busy, at least here in Norwalk, they are. Take a look, they're just emptying out the voter drop off box. We've seen a steady stream and I'm gonna ask photographer Carlos Jacinto to pan off to the right. Well, this is the line most of these folks waiting in line to drop their ballot off. There's also a small line on the front steps here of the Registrar Recorder's Office for folks who want to vote in person. So plenty of options and according to the Registrar Recorder's Office, a lot of folks have already voted as of October 30th, over 1 million of the almost 6 million registered voters. They cast their ballots already and the registrar recorder's office said that they're already seeing a higher turnout in this election than previous elections. Now this morning, we spent the morning talking to voters who shared with us what issues are important to them and the importance of just getting out the vote. We got to vote, especially today. Everything, whatever happens in the world right now, we need to vote. What were the issues that jumped out at you? I lost my job and then my family's immigration issues. Tell my grandkids, I text them, get up, come on, go out there and vote. Grandma's voting, so you have to vote, right? How important is voting to you? Voting is hopefully making a difference so that my vote counts and I'll be standing for what I think is right. And you still have plenty of time and plenty of options. You can use one of the 429 official secure drop boxes in L.A. County where you can leave your ballot, but it must be in the box by 8 p.m. You can also mail it. No stamp required. Suggestion, walk it into your post office, ask the clerk to postmark it so it will be counted. And, of course, you can vote in person at any location in the county. They are all open until 8 p.m. Bringing it back here live, the line of cars. continues and the line of streaming into the registrar recorder's office to vote in person also continues a very steady stream. And remember, if you live in LA County, you don't have to vote at an assigned location. You can vote at any polling place in Los Angeles. Now remember, your vote does count and there are some races where the votes are very close. Mario Ramirez has been following the mayoral campaign in the city of Los Angeles, a heated campaign. And Mario joins us now live. Good morning, Mario. Hi, Gigi. That's right. When it comes to the mayoral race, the latest polls show that they're really neck and neck and a lot of undecided voters. That is what they are trying to reach. That is what they have been trying to do for the last 24 hours, that final campaign push. Now, we are here at a sports complex in Baldwin Hills. And just take a look at this line. They've been open for about two and a half hours now. And we've seen a steady flow of people here. There's a lot at stake on the ballot today from statewide races and propositions to local measures, dealing with public safety, housing, and city services. But, of course, one of the biggest races in L.A. is for mayor. So let's start with City Councilwoman Nithya Raman. She wants to make L.A. more affordable. She's proposing Tripling housing construction by cutting red tape, allowing more homes into existing neighborhoods. On homelessness, she wants to cut the number of people living on streets in half by the 2028 Olympics, expanding housing vouchers and moving people into apartments instead of She wants to expand unarmed crisis response teams and bring back Hollywood jobs by speeding up film permits. And we saw her voting in silver like a little earlier this morning. And let's talk about the incumbent mayor, Karen Bass, now seeking four more years, pointing to her record on homelessness and housing. Her Inside Safe program has moved thousands of people from encampments into temporary housing. She wants to create a city-run homelessness system and continue fast-tracking affordable housing approvals. And on public safety, she wants to increase LAPD staffing. To 9500 officers, but she has faced criticism over the Palisades fire, city finances, and the latest UC Berkeley LA Times poll shows both candidates at 40% support among likely voters and around 19% undecided. So that is the big question here. How many of those undecided voters came out and cast their ballots or are still waiting to get their voices heard? Let me see if I can ask somebody in line, no, she's like, no, no, no. How are we feeling this election day? I'm feeling confident in my choice and my decision. I think that is important for everyone to get out to vote. Very good. What issues brought you out? Without asking who you're voting for, I know you're in line, but what issues brought you out? Mainly just trying to figure out the direction of the city, trying to make sure that there's a positive impact and a positive leader who has a clear vision and experience to be able to take us to where we need to go. So let me ask you, if someone asked for the next four years, what does the city look like and what change you would like to see, what does that look like? And if I could control the city in a way that was gainful, I would just say there needs to be more of an emphasis on things to help the youth. Peace! Peace! Yeah, I think that's the most important thing. Peace! It's not a lot of stuff for young people to do in the city, Peace! Peace! Peace! and everything is also very expensive. So if there's anything we can do to try to mitigate against the cost of living so that people can actually have a positive... way to spend their time. I think that would be best. Thanks so much. Appreciate it. It's interesting to hear that perspective. We heard from a lot of people here who said, I can't even afford the American dream. Cost of living is getting out of hand. A lot of people who want to buy a home for the first time and say they can't really afford it. So that's what's bringing people out here to the polls. They close tonight at 8 o'clock. If you are in line, even after 8 o'clock, as long as you're in line, you can still cast that ballot. For now, that's the latest here. We'll send it back to you. A lot of activity there. Obviously, the issues, as you mentioned, Mario, Are you bringing people out to the To the polls today.