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The day after the March 5 primary election, a tired-looking Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa mentioned off-hand that turnout for the LAUSD School Board elections was a dismal seven percent. A couple of weeks later on KPCC, he amended that number to 14 percent.

So which is it? Neither, actually.  Voter turnout for the LAUSD races was initially reported at 14.5 percent in the days after the March 5 primary — just under the 16 percent turnout in the Mayoral election.

However, these numbers excluded the 82,000 outstanding ballots, which were finally announced last week.  The final LAUSD School Board voter turnout tally was 20 percent (and 21 percent in the Mayoral election). Voter turnout in the School Board races was highest in the Westside’s District 4, which saw 22.5 percent of registered voters cast ballots. Turnout in District 2 was 18 percent; District 6 saw 17.6 percent.

Previous posts: Registration & Vote By Mail Schedule, School Board Primary Averaged $55 Per Vote, Voter Turnout Far Below Expectations