Early voting to start in Council District 6 special runoff election

Early voting in the 6th City Council District for the June 27 special election runoff to fill Nury Martinez’s vacant seat will begin Saturday, Los Angeles city officials announced Thursday.

Imelda Padilla, a community relations manager, and Marisa Alcaraz, a City Council aide, took the two top spots in a seven-candidate field in the April 4 special election. With no candidate claiming a majority, the upcoming runoff between the top two vote-getters became necessary.

Padilla garnered 3,424 votes, or 25.7%, while Alcaraz took 2,821 votes, or 21.1%.

A total of 13,510 ballots were cast in the April 4 election, representing 11.4% of the district’s eligible voters.

In addition, all registered voters in the 6th District received a vote-by-mail ballot late May, according to Los Angeles City Clerk Holly Wolcott.

Wolcott in a statement reminded voters that there are several options to cast their ballots, including at select vote centers in the 6th District that are set to open Saturday at a ballot drop-box, or by mail.

Residents of the 6th District can find a vote center or ballot drop-box location at clerk.lacity.gov/clerk-divisions/elections.

Eligible residents in the Sixth District who missed the registration deadline can still vote at any vote center. Under California election law, conditional voter registration allows a prospective voter to register and cast a ballot.

Voters can track their ballots using “Where’s My Ballot,” a free subscription that sends automatic notifications by text, email or voicemail on the status of a ballot.

The 6th District consists of Van Nuys, Arleta, Lake Balboa, Panorama City, Sun Valley and the eastern portions of North Hills and North Hollywood.

Martinez represented the district until October, when she resigned first her council presidency — and then, two days later, her seat altogether — after she was caught making racist comments in a meeting that was secretly taped and leaked to the news media.

The 6th District is being overseen by a non-voting caretaker, the city’s chief legislative analyst, Sharon Tso. A caretaker does not hold a seat on the City Council, but oversees the council office to make sure the district provides constituent services and other basic functions.

The winner of the June 27 runoff will finish Martinez’s term, which ends in December 2024.