L.A. Votes: Historically low turnout possible; new attack ads

Whoever is elected mayor Tuesday could garner fewer votes than any newly elected mayor since the 1930s, The Times concluded after analyzing voter turnout over the past century.

As many as 1.6 million of the 2 million Angelenos who are eligible to vote are likely to skip casting a ballot Tuesday. In the March primary, at least two-thirds of registered voters in every neighborhood failed to cast ballots, with the highest participation in the Pacific Palisades and the lowest in Watts.

As billboard companies hope to erect new electronic billboards, they have played a greater role in city elections than at any time since 2001.

FULL COVERAGE: L.A.’s race for mayor

A dueling round of attack ads emerged Wednesday designed to undercut Wendy Greuel and Eric Garcetti in the Latino community, a signal of how critical this electorate could be in the runoff election. Greuel is criticized for having been a registered Republican, while Garcetti is accused of wearing a “Latino mask” and forcing working-class Latinos out of Hollywood through gentrification.

The County Federation of Labor, which has been working hard to turn out Latino voters for Greuel, has not responded to interview requests in recent days after sending out a controversial mailer saying Greuel would raise the minimum hourly wage to $15. (Greuel has made no such promise). The federation’s leader, Maria Elena Durazo, penned an op-ed arguing that the media, instead of focusing on labor money flowing into the race, should pay more attention to the city’s status as the “low-wage capital of the nation.”

L.A. ELECTIONS 2013: Sign up for our email newsletter

Gov. Jerry Brown weighed in on the testy city attorney’s race, recording a robocall on behalf of Mike Feuer that says incumbent Carmen Trutanich has been “misleading.” The governor also praises Feuer as “a man of integrity.”

Comments, questions or tips on city elections? Tweet me at @LATSeema

ALSO:

Aspiring model tried to fight off killer, prosecutor says

At least 17 suspected explosives found; man in custody

Grand fire dies down; crews create fire breaks overnight