With Election Day nearly here, close to 41% of Ventura County voters have already cast their ballot.
By Monday morning, the elections office reported more than 210,000 ballots had been received from some of the county’s 517,000 registered voters. For those who have yet to cast their ballot and plan to vote in person, officials urged them to try to go early to avoid possible lines.
Vote centers may have an additional challenge with gusty Santa Ana winds on Monday. Southern California Edison warned it was monitoring local circuits and may shut off power in case of hazardous conditions.
Local areas being monitored included spots around eastern Ventura County and the Santa Monica Mountains. Power lines in those locations could be de-energized to prevent electrical equipment from sparking a fire â outages called Public Safety Power Shutoffs.
The Ventura County Sheriff’s Office of Emergency was working with election officials to have generators available in case of outages, OES Director Patrick Maynard said. Voters also can cast their ballot at any of the dozens of centers countywide, not just the location closest to their home.
Early turnout lags behind 2020
Early voting in the election kicked off nearly a month ago. Most of the 210,000 ballots already received were returned in drop boxes or by mail. Roughly 15,000 had voted in person, according to the elections office.
The early turnout far outpaced that of the midterm election two years ago but lagged behind the last presidential election. More than 60% of the county’s voters returned ballots before Election Day in November 2020, officials said. In all, the county recorded a record high 85.9% voter turnout that year.
Big numbers of early returns had been reported throughout California. But changes four years ago make a comparison to other elections difficult, experts say. Mail-in ballots were sent to all registered voters for the first time, because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
As of Sunday, an estimated 7.6 million ballots have been returned statewide. That’s nearly 34% of early registration numbers in California, according to the Secretary of State’s tally.
How to vote in Ventura County
On Tuesday, local voters will get their last chance to cast a ballot in the presidential election.
Under the stateâs Voters Choice Act, the county’s election model extends in-person voting days but reduces the number of voting locations. Instead of hundreds of polling places, a smaller number of vote centers are open for additional days. Voters also can cast ballots at any center in the county.
As of Saturday, elections officials had opened 52 vote centers throughout the county. Those locations will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Election Day.
Voters also can return ballots at the centers, to an official drop-off box or the county elections office, 800 S. Victoria Ave. in Ventura. Ballots need to be signed and dropped off by 8 p.m. Tuesday. For more information, visit venturavote.org.
Cheri Carlson covers the environment and county government for the Ventura County Star. Reach her at cheri.carlson@vcstar.com or 805-437-0260.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Election 2024: Early turnout reaches close to 41% in Ventura County
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