(KGTV) — The line wrapped around the block at this polling site in the East Village. San Diegans waited over two hours on election night to cast their vote. We were there with them.
"I am here with photojournalist Sarah Wemy. We are on 14th street. Sarah what time is it? 10 o’clock wow!"
You had to be in the line by 8 o'clock. Many said it was worth the wait. Now all the ballots are coming here to the Registrar of Voters office in Kearny Mesa. They will be counting them for several days.
“We are seeing a great turnout so far. We have nearly a million ballots into the count," said Cynthia Paes, Registrar of Voters.
Paes says there are about 590,000 ballots left to count.
"These are the mail in ballots we have received. Also ballots from our vote centers and our drop boxes in the mail," she added.
She says voter turnout won’t likely reach 80%, compared to past elections.
"Let’s break it all down. Back in 2016 during the general election, voter turnout was 81% in San Diego County. Fast forward to 2020, voter turnout went up to 83%."
If you look at the numbers including the projected 590,000 ballots that still need to be processed, the voter turnout comes out at about 79% percent for this election. Lower than years past.
“There are so many reasons why voters choose to participate or choose not to," said Paes.
And even with these big lines on election night, Paes says there is an uptick in early voting.
