How many people will vote in this election

There really isn't any way to know until after the election.

But past is often prologue. So let's look at how many people voted in recent elections — as well as how many are currently registered.

There were about 6.5 million eligible voters in Los Angeles County, as of Jan. 5, according to the California Secretary of State's Office. Of those, about 5.7 million — or 86% — were registered to vote.

Typically, voter turnout is higher during presidential elections — such as this one — than during the midterms or off-year special elections. But primaries also see fewer voters cast ballots than during general elections.

During the 2022 midterm primary, for example, about 28% of L.A. County's eligible voters cast ballots, according to the registrar's office — but that jumped to nearly 44% during that year's general election.

Turnout during the 2020 presidential primary was about 10 percentage points better than the 2022 midterm primary, according to the registrar's office.

But turnout for those elections doesn't compare to the 2020 general election, which saw partisan tensions crescendo as then-President Donald Trump tried, unsuccessfully in the end, to win reelection against current President Joe Biden.

Turnout for that election hit nearly 76%.

With Biden now the incumbent and Trump still the face of the Republican Party, turnout could be similar to 2020 — unless fatigue over a rematch tamps down interest come November.

That's enough generalizing. Let's get to specifics — namely, how to vote.

Voting by mail has become increasingly popular in recent years. During the 2020 primary, for example, about 86% of votes in L.A. County came via VBMs.

Every registered voter will receive a vote-by-mail ballot.

The registrar began mailing VBMs to voters Thursday — several days ahead of the Monday deadline to do so — and will continue sending them out into early this week.

There are several ways to submit VBMs: You can mail them, place them in a county dropbox or deliver them to a vote center once they open. (More on vote centers in a moment.)

Ballots must be placed in dropboxes or delivered to vote centers by the time polls close on Election Day, which is 8 p.m. March 5.

Mailed ballots must be postmarked by March 5 — but have seven days after the election to arrive.

VBMs come with a return envelope that doesn't need postage.

To find the most convenient of the more than 400 dropboxes around the county, go to lavote.gov.

The old-school among us, meanwhile, can still vote inperson.

And you can do so as early as Monday. That's when the registrar's headquarters, in Norwalk, will begin allowing in-person voting during regular business hours. The headquarters, 12400 Imperial Highway, are open from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekdays.

If that's too much of a trek, you can wait for the 644 regional vote centers to open.

You can vote at any of those county facilities no matter where live.

The registrar's office will open 119 vote centers on Feb. 24. The rest of the vote centers will open March 2.

Those facilities will be open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily until Election Day.

On Election Day, they will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. If you're still in line after 8 p.m. March 5, though, you still will be allowed to vote.

To find a vote center, go to lavote.gov.

Here are some other key dates:

Feb. 20: The last day to register to vote. That's also the deadline to receive a VBM. After that, you can still conditionally vote in person.

March 12: Last day for VBMs to arrive, as long as they are postmarked by March 5.

March 29; Tentative date on which the county registrar will certify the election.

April 2: Tentative date on which the Board of Supervisors will vote to officially conclude the election.

Nov. 5: The general presidential election.

One of the most critical aspects of ensuring free and fair elections is guaranteeing the safety of workers and voters.

But given the partisan tensions that have reached a boiling point in recent years, particularly with false claims of voter fraud in 2020, keeping folks safe and free from intimidation has become even more crucial.

“We know a lot of visibility, a lot of attention, will be on Los Angeles County this election,” Sanchez, the spokesperson for the registrar's office, said Friday. “We are well aware of that and have prepared in advance.”

The registrar's office has

security plans in place, Sanchez said.

Officials have been working with various law enforcement officials to ensure volunteers and voters remain safe, he said.

Still, here are some rules, according to the Secretary of State's Office, that voters should know:

Election observers cannot communicate with voters within 100 feet of a vote center.

Exit polling, while permitted, must occur at least 25 feet from a vote center.

You may not do the following in the “immediate vicinity” of someone queued to vote in-person or within 100 feet of a vote center or dropbox: Ask a person to vote a certain way; display a candidate's name, image or logo; provide any information, either in writing or verbally, about a candidate or measure; or circulate petitions.

Blocking access to and loitering near dropboxes are also prohibited.

You can file an election complaint at sos.ca.gov.

The county registrar's office aimed to recruit 10,000 volunteers to help with the March 5 election, Sanchez said — and the agency met that goal.

But the county could still use some more help, Sanchez said, namely bilingual pollworkers.

The registrar's office, Sanchez said in a Friday evening email, particularly needs volunteers who speak Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Thai, Khmer, Armenian and Farsi.

Bilingual speakers are needed in the South Bay, Chinatown, Norwalk, West Los Angeles, Woodland Hills and Panorama City, Sanzhez said.

Volunteers who speak one of those languages will receive an additional $100 stipend in addition to the $100 a day vote center workers get, according to the registrar's office. Volunteers also get $80 to complete training.

To be a poll worker, according to the registrar's office, you must be at least 18 years old, and either a U.S. citizen registered to vote in California or a legal permanent resident. One exception is if you're in the Student Election Worker Program.

To apply to be an election worker, go to lavote.gov or call 800-815-2666, option 7.