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100,000 SJ ballots already cast
Online registration gives county record 293,000 voters
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San Joaquin County Registrar of Voters Austin Erdman said 20,000 to 25,000 of the 175,000 mail-in ballots sent to registered voters are expected to be received today. Before noon on Monday, on the eve of election day, 100,000 of those ballots were already turned in, he said.

Erdman is predicting a 77 percent voter turnout at the polls today. That’s five percent below the 82 percent figure in the 2008 presidential election. His lower prediction for today’s turnout at the precincts is based on the “lackluster” presidential primaries of both parties, Erdman explained.

But this election’s impressive numbers are those shown in the online voter registration. There has been a “huge jump” in online registration. That helped push the registration as of Monday to a record 293,000 for San Joaquin County, Erdman said.

“A lot of people are registering online,” he said.

While those who are taking advantage of this convenience with respect to age range are “across the board,” Erdman said the “biggest volume” of online registrants are between the ages of 18 and 25.

The large number of mail-in ballots will mean unofficial tallies for close races may not be completed for days. Signatures have to be verified before ballots can be counted.

Since he does not expect a significant increase in voter traffic at the polls today, his office did not hire any extra election workers, he said.

Voting today will be from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. The first election results will be posted at 8:30 p.m.

The location of your polling place is on the back page of the sample ballot. If you need additional information about where to vote, call the San Joaquin County Registrar of Voters at 468-2890.