The 2020 presidential election was one of the most contentious of all time, but the most heated race of this election season may still be going on in your own backyard. As Los Angeles County continues to tally votes, the shape of the new city council for Culver City is still being molded.
While Albert Vera and Yasmine Imani-McMorrin have essentially secured their spots as city council members in Culver City with over 10,000 votes a piece, the winner of third seat is coming down to a microscopic margin. After opening initial voting down 200 votes, the count for the final open city council seat shifted back in current mayor Göran Eriksson’s favor Monday afternoon.
With 8,426 votes, Eriksson barely edged out Freddie Puza in Monday’s results. Puza sat at just 13 votes behind the incumbent at 8,413 votes. That number rose slightly on Tuesday, with Eriksson garnering 8,548 votes compared to 8,528 for Puza.
Results will continue to filter in every Tuesday and Friday leading up to the end of the month. According to the city, with results being certified on Nov. 30, While there is not expected to be any dramatic changes, the race between Puza and Eriksson is still subject to development due to the negligible difference between the two.
A victory for Eriksson would represent a massive reprieve for the Culver City Police Officers’ Association, who invested significant time and money campaigning for Vera, Eriksson, and Heather Wollin while criticizing both McMorrin and Puza for their views on policing.
For those who voted by mail and want to make sure that their mail-in-ballot was counted, go to https://lavote.net/av_inquiry and fill out the provided form with your last name, date of birth, and the number of your home address. The Election Information webpage on the Culver City website has a link to this page.
Those needing to cure their ballots have until Nov. 28 at 5 p.m. to do so. Voters who were sent a notice that their signature did not match what the city has in its records need to fill out a Signature Verification Statement, which is also found on the city’s Election Information Webpage.
Forgetting to sign the mail-in-ballot entirely is another issue many people face in the wake of this unprecedented voting season. To fix this issue, a document called the “Unsigned Ballot Statement” will be mailed to voters who overlooked their signature on the ballot. A valid signature is required for ballots to be processed.
For updates, visit the Culver City Election Information webpage at https://www.culvercity.org/city-hall/election-information (culvercity.org > City Hall > Information > Election Information), or visit the LA County election results page at https://results.lavote.net/.
