SAN DIEGO (KGTV) -- San Diegans requested a record number of mail-in ballots for th 2018 general election, 1.2 million to be exact.
Now, as tens of thousands arrive at the Registrar's office every day ahead of election day, new technology is helping make sure every ballot is processed and counted.
"This is our 144 pocket ballot sorter," says Registrar Michael Vu, showing off one of two brand new machines his office bought with this election in mind.
"After the 2016 election we said the mail ballot population is so great we need to invest in something that's even higher speed," says Vu.
The new machine can process up to 44,000 ballots per hour, twice the number of the old machine. It can also sort them by city and council district. That comes in handy with an election as big as this week's.
"We have 326 contests on ballot, spanning 485 candidates, and 52 measures on there," says Vu.
By late Sunday, the Registrar had already received about 500,000 mail-in ballots. That includes several thousand people who voted early in-person. Vu says he expects that nearly 70% of the people who vote in Tuesday's election will have done so through mail-in ballots.
He thinks San Diego could get closer to 100% mail-in ballots in the near future.
"It's becoming ubiquitous," Vu says.
Anyone who hasn't turned in their mail-in ballot yet can still do so, either at a drop off location around San Diego or at a polling place on Tuesday.
To find a location, go to sdvote.com.
