Election Day is taking place in two weeks, and approximately 28 million ballots have already been returned. The Bay Area is no exception, as ballot drop-off boxes across the region continue to overflow with voters' ballots.
Normally, drop-off boxes at the registrar are emptied only a few days a week. This election year, however, workers have had to empty out boxes multiple times everyday. Post offices have seen a high volume of ballots as well.
Scott Ruiz has been a mail carrier for 30 years, and he says political mail has been relentless this year.
“Democracy is important, and I feel we’re a part of it and we’re able to get the job done. It’s all good," Ruiz said.
Ruiz told NBC Bay Area homeowners have been handing him his mail-in ballots instead of leaving them out for him to grab. The postal service says most voters use the drop-off boxes at the registrar's office, which tend to fill up rapidly.
The registrar's office says there's been a significant increase from previous presidential elections.
A week ago in Santa Clara County, 38,000 voters had already returned their ballots. The turnout has been so high, that the number of returned ballots went up to 220,000.
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Ruiz said he's never seen such a high voter turnout in his 30 years as a mail carrier.