Orange County Voter Turnout For Recall Election Estimated At 46% By Mid-Afternoon, With Long Lines Well Into Evening
IRVINE (CBSLA) - At voting centers in Orange County, a steady stream of people showed up to cast their ballots in the gubernatorial recall election, with at least 50 people in line before lunchtime at city hall and long lines just 30 minutes for polls closing.
Asked why he wanted to vote in person, Irvine voter Anton Acre said he enjoys showing up for the hands-on approach.
"Honestly, it's part of the civic duty. I like being a part of the physical process," Arce said.
Charlotte Coleman, another Irvine voter said she even had conversations with others while she waited her turn to vote.
"I was talking to a person and we definitely were voting different, but it wasn't like hostile, but more like respecting everybody's right to have a choice, right?" she said.
In Santa Ana, some folks were bringing their ballots to the voting centers to drop in person.
"It just kind of shows you that this has nothing to do with a political party. It's just people want to almost make a point. Like, we do not like what's happen in California. It has nothing to do with political parties or race. It's just we live here and everything is becoming harder," Jessica Lopez, who was voting in Santa Ana said.
Another dozen or so voters in Santa Ana waited for the opportunity to vote inside at the Orange County Registrar's Office after lunchtime.
John Ramirez said he preferred to cast his vote in person.
"A lot of it has to do with COVID. I think a lot of it has been politicized and a lot of interest in that and a lot of people think one governor might be better than another as far as how to handle that crisis. So, we'll see what happens, Ramirez said.
Registrar Neal Kelley said he'll release results from about 800,000 mail-in ballots just after 8 p.m.
"The last couple of days, the last week, people started paying attention. That's what I'm seeing because even though we had that early onslaught of those returns, we're starting to see a little bit of a pickup again, which is good. So, voters are now paying attention. They're seeing things in the media and reading things, which is good" Kelley said.
The bulk of Orange County results should be announced by about 8:05 p.m.