The San Diego County Registrar of Voters says 350,000 voters have cast their ballots as of Wednesday before Election Day, which is slightly above the number of voters who had cast their ballot at this time in the 2018 regular gubernatorial election.
That number is much less than at this time before Election Day during last year’s special election.
Cynthia Paes, the registrar of voters, said she expects a 60% turnout for this election and is expecting to see a surge as we get closer to Election Day. There are nearly 2 million registered voters in San Diego County.
Paes said the 350,000 ballots cast thus far are from a mix of mail-in ballots and people who came to vote in person at the registrar’s office. Right now there are 39 vote centers open up across the county from 8 A.M. to 5 P.M. Beginning Saturday, there will be a total of 218 vote centers that will be open for in-person voting. There are also more than 100 ballot drop-off locations across the county, with a few dozen of those open 24 hours a day.
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So far this election, there have been no reports of poll-worker intimidation or harassment and no significant issues regarding the voting process in general, according to Paes, who added that the voting process is secure and that there are procedures in place — like signature verification — to prevent fraud.
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“We have a two-person chain of custody," Paes said. "For example when you talk about physical security, where at no time during transport are ballots left with one individual, voted ballots have a two-person chain of custody until they’re secured in our secure ballot storage room here at the registrar’s office.”
For more information on polling locations, drop boxes and times, click here.
