Voters Head to Polls for Election

Update, 5 p.m.: Voters have been turning out in small numbers Tuesday to choose their candidate for the vacant seat in the 36th Congressional District, officials said.

As of 4 p.m., approximately 7.6 percent of the 345,232 registered voters in the district that stretches from Venice to San Pedro had voted, said Eileen Shea, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk's office.

There were no reports of weather-related problems or any voting irregularities, Shea said.

Polls in Redondo Beach are open until 8 p.m.

Original story:

Voters will head to the polls Tuesday to choose among a wide field of candidates competing in a special election to fill a Congressional seat that became open after longtime Rep. Jane Harman (D-Venice) resigned in February to join a Washington, D.C.-based think tank.

Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Sixteen candidates will appear on the ballot, including five Democrats, six Republicans, a Libertarian, one Peace and Freedom candidate and three candidates who listed no party preference. There's also one write-in candidate.

The candidates are vying to become the representative of the 36th Congressional District, a largely coastal disrict that stretches from Venice to San Pedro and includes Marina del Rey, Mar Vista, Redondo Beach, Hermosa Beach and Manhattan Beach.

If no candidate receives more than 50 percent of the vote, a runoff election among the top two vote-getters, regardless of party, will take place July 12.

The district skews Democratic with 45 percent of its roughly 345,000 voters registered as Democrats, compared with 27 percent registered as Republican and 22 percent saying they decline to state their party preference, according to the California Secretary of State's office.

The top Democratic candidates include Los Angeles City Councilwoman , Secretary of State and teacher and anti-war activist . Hahn had about $238,000 to spend headed into the final weeks of the campaign, more than double Bowen's roughly $103,000, according to federal election campaign finance filings released in early May. Both had far more than Winograd's $26,000 cash on hand at the end of the filing period. Winograd is the only candidate among the three who has pledged not to accept corporate donations.

Republican candidate had the largest campaign warchest of any candidate with contributions and loans of $515,905 and $198,800 cash on hand at the end of the last filing period. Huey loaned his own campaign $500,000 and received the rest in contributions. Redondo Beach Mayor also has been campaigning as a Republican, and so has Hermosa Beach City Councilman .

To verify that you live in the 36th Congressional District, visit the Voter Registriation Verification site maintained by the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk. You can also click here to find your polling place.