Los Angeles Leaders Launch "A Count You Can Trust" Coalition to Build Voter Confidence Through Election Education

CITY OF INDUSTRY, Calif. - Former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and California Community Foundation (CCF) President and CEO Miguel A. Santana today launched A Count You Can Trust, an independent, nonpartisan coalition of Angelenos working to build voter confidence by showing how Los Angeles County’s election process protects every eligible vote.

The coalition will highlight the established safeguards that help ensure elections are secure, transparent and verifiable, including ballot verification, public observation and audits. Leaders will also explain why counting continues after Election Day and how ballots are verified before results are certified.

“Our democracy works best when people understand it and trust it,” said Antonio Villaraigosa, former Mayor of Los Angeles and Co-Chair of A Count You Can Trust. “There’s nothing more sacred than the right to vote, and people need to know they can trust that these votes, their votes, are going to be counted accurately and fairly.”

A Count You Can Trust brings together leaders from neighborhoods, cities, and communities across the county to share fact-based election information. The coalition does not support or oppose any candidate, political party, or ballot measure, and it is not the official county elections office.

“Los Angeles County has real safeguards in place, and the public can watch them work. A Count You Can Trust is about meeting people where they are, answering their questions with facts, and making sure every Angeleno knows their ballot is protected and counted,” said Miguel A. Santana, President and CEO of the California Community Foundation and Co-Chair of A Count You Can Trust. “This is not about the results of the election. It’s about making sure every voter in Los Angeles County understands the process, and knows that their vote will be counted.”

The coalition’s members, known as Champions of the Count, are leaders from business, labor, philanthropy, civil rights, faith, media, and academia who serve as truth-tellers and myth-busters, explaining how elections work and the safeguards that protect the count, including why counting continues after Election Day. In addition to co-chairs Antonio Villaraigosa and Miguel A. Santana, members include:

• Connie Chung Joe, President and Chief Executive Officer, Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders in Philanthropy
• Victor Dominguez, President and Chief Executive Officer, YMCA of Metropolitan Los Angeles
• Rabbi Noah Farkas, President and Chief Executive Officer, Jewish Federation Los Angeles
• Angela Gibson-Shaw, President, Greater Los Angeles African American Chamber of Commerce
• Ruben Gonzalez, President and Chief Advocacy Officer, Valley Industry & Commerce Association
• Dr. Fernando Guerra, Director, Thomas and Dorothy Leavey Center for the Study of Los Angeles, Loyola Marymount University
• Gene Hale, Chairman, Greater Los Angeles African American Chamber of Commerce
• Cynthia Mitchell-Heard, President and Chief Executive Officer, Los Angeles Urban League
• Maria S. Salinas, President and Chief Executive Officer, Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce
• Darrel Sauceda, Chairman, Los Angeles Latino Chamber of Commerce
• Tavis Smiley, Founder, Owner and Host, KBLA Talk 1580
• Bea Stotzer, Board President, New Economics for Women
• Yvonne Wheeler, President, Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO
• Mary Dickson, Co-President, League of Women Voters of Greater Los Angeles

Voters can learn more about how Los Angeles County elections work, including ballot verification, public observation, and the counting timeline, at acountyoucantrust.org.

About A Count You Can Trust

A Count You Can Trust is an independent, nonpartisan coalition of Angelenos, launched as an initiative of the California Community Foundation, that shares fact-based information about how Los Angeles County elections work. The coalition does not support or oppose any candidate, political party, or ballot measure and is not affiliated with the official county elections office. Learn more at acountyoucantrust.org.