Los Angeles District 9 City Council race narrows as fraud allegations emerge

The Los Angeles City Council District 9 race remains extremely close as Jose Ugarte’s lead has shrunk to 156 votes. According to the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk, Ugarte holds 19,200 votes to Estuardo Mazariegos’ 19,044. This marks a significant decline from Ugarte’s initial lead of 9,400 votes following election night.

The Mazariegos campaign has filed a complaint with the county registrar alleging potential ballot tampering by the Ugarte campaign. The allegations include claims that Ugarte representatives collected ballots without signing required identification lines and, in one instance, allegedly filled out a ballot on a voter’s behalf without her knowledge.

A spokesperson for the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk stated the news release has been forwarded to the district attorney for review. While California law allows for ballot harvesting, where a voter authorizes another to return their mail-in ballot, the legality of the specific actions alleged is under scrutiny. The winner of this seat will succeed the termed-out Curren Price.