Voter turnout ‘historically high’ in San Mateo County

Of the county’s more than 760,000 residents, roughly 443,000 have registered to vote, about 88% of eligible voters residing in the county, said Church. He called the figure “historically high,” noting a 9% increase in voter registration compared to the 2016 General Election when President Donald Trump ran against former secretary of state Hillary Clinton. 

While many have warned voters a final tally may not be known for weeks, Church said he expects approximately 60% of all votes cast by 8 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 3, to be counted by that time. The office is confident mail-in ballots received by Friday, Oct. 30, will be fully counted and aim to have some mail-in ballots received by Saturday, Oct. 31, to be counted as well. The first round of results will be released at 8:10 p.m. with further updates being produced periodically until all voting centers complete reports. 

The county has also reported record high early vote turnout, 100% greater than that of 2016. As of Nov. 1, 275,236 ballots had been received by the Elections Office, 13,910 of which were cast in person for a total of 289,146 ballots. Approximately 204,000 ballots had been processed as of Monday, said Church. 

Of the processed ballots, 9,905 were challenged for issues including mismatched signatures, missing signatures or envelopes without ballots. Voters will be contacted by the Elections Office if an issue is spotted and have 28 days after Election Day to cure their ballots, said Church, adding that 6,991 ballots have been corrected so far. 

“Our team is working into the night to keep on track with our high rate of return. … We’re keeping up as best we can,” said Church, noting staff worked through the weekend to continue counting. 

With a team of 1,415 people including 893 volunteers, Church said the office is well staffed and equipped to handle the increased volume of ballots. While Church notes lines at polling places have been moving smoothly, concerns remain around an influx of Election Day voters and ballot activity. 

Strongest turnout this year, as in most years, has been from residents 65 years old and older with a turnout rate of 75%. The group with the lowest turnout has been residents 18 to 24 years old with a turnout rate of 53%. Church believes total turnout from young people will surpass that of the 2016 General Election when 65% of residents 18 to 24 years old voted.

“The voters have taken the message to heart and they have studied their ballot and voted early so that’s encouraging and voters should be commended for their civil engagement,” said Church.

In years past, about 80% of all registered voters have turned out to cast a ballot during presidential elections, with nearly 82% of eligible voters casting ballots in 2016, 80% in 2012 and 79% in 2008. 

On Election Day, Church recommends residents check polling place wait times listed on the county’s elections website and to bring their voter information pamphlet received in the mail to speed up the voting process. Voters may also place ballots in one of 36 outdoor drop-boxes stationed around the county or in a temporary curbside drop box placed at one of 45 county polling places. 

All state issued COVID-19 health guidelines will also be honored, including social distancing, limiting polling place capacity and enforcing face coverings. Voting centers will have face masks available for residents without one but officials encourage voters to bring their own. 

Church also expressed confidence in the U.S. Postal Service, calling the local offices collaborative partners and affirming that all ballots will be counted up to 17 days after Election Day if postmarked by Nov. 3. 

“Our experience with the U.S. Postal Service has been excellent and they’ve been our partner in all-ballot elections since 2015. Our local offices have been responsible and collaborative,” said Church. 

Many, including U.S. representatives Jackie Speier, D-San Mateo, and Anna Eshoo, D-Palo Alto, have raised concerns around postal service changes made by Postmaster General Louis DeJoy which were preserved to be detrimental to the integrity of mail-in-voting. DeJoy swore to halt any further changes until after the 2020 election cycle was completed.

Go to the Elections Office website at smcacre.org for more local election information.

sierrra@smdailyjournal.com 

(650) 344-5200 ext. 106