More than 257,000 ballots had been returned in San Bernardino County ahead of the Nov. 3 election, part of a statewide surge in early voting that analysts said could signal strong participation. The county sent more than 1.2 million ballots to registered voters for the midterms.
More than 173,000 San Bernardino County voters returned their ballots by mail, while 74,504 used drop boxes. The county does not operate vote centers where residents can return mailed ballots or cast new ballots in person. Across California, voters had already had about a month to participate before Election Day.
California had recorded more than 6.4 million ballots cast by Monday afternoon, after issuing nearly 23.5 million mail ballots at the beginning of October. The secretary of state’s office reported that 27.312% of ballots had been cast. Its latest breakdown, through Nov. 1, showed more than 3 million returns by mail, 2.69 million through drop boxes, 299,000 ballots cast in person and another 210,000 delivered to vote centers.
Political Data Inc., which tracks ballot returns and voter information, found that participation as of Monday was nearly half a million voters ahead of the comparable point four years earlier. Paul Mitchell, the Democratic consultant who leads the firm, said California would likely record its largest vote total for a gubernatorial election. State officials reported a record 23.2 million registered voters ahead of Election Day. PDI also found that 16% of Latino voters had returned ballots, compared with 13% at the same stage in 2022.
Among Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties, Orange County had the highest percentage of ballots cast early. More than 600,000 had been cast by Nov. 1 after more than 1.9 million were sent out. Mail returns accounted for 269,913 ballots, followed by 243,411 placed in drop boxes, 45,998 cast in person and 37,666 delivered to vote centers.
Los Angeles County had received nearly 1.4 million ballots by Nov. 1 after mailing ballots to nearly 6 million voters. Drop boxes were its most frequently used option, accounting for 672,193 returns, compared with 507,499 sent by mail. Another 136,776 voters cast ballots in person, and 72,784 returned ballots at vote centers. Riverside County, meanwhile, reported more than 372,000 ballots cast after sending nearly 1.5 million to registered voters.
Dan Schnur, who teaches political messaging at USC and UC Berkeley, said participation appeared likely to be unusually high both statewide and nationally. He cautioned that the volume of ballots could not establish who would benefit. Historical voting patterns in areas reporting strong turnout, he said, offer more useful guidance than overall participation alone.
In California’s 2022 midterms, 50.8% of registered voters participated, representing more than 11.1 million ballots from nearly 22 million registered voters. Orange County exceeded the statewide turnout rate, while Los Angeles, Riverside and San Bernardino counties fell below it.
Voting remained open on Nov. 3, with polls scheduled to close at 8 p.m. Voters waiting in line at that hour could still cast their ballots.
