In-person voting is underway at 39 vote centers across San Diego County, but Assistant Registrar of Voters Shawn Brom said the vast majority of the ballots received so far have been mailed in or dropped into ballot boxes.
Decision 2024
There are 146 ballot boxes around the county. Find out where they are here.
On March 2, all 218 voting centers will open. Brom expects turnout to keep climbing up until Election Day, which is March 5.
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Brom said San Diego is on track to meet — or beat — its voter turnout rates from March 2020, when the last presidential primary was held in the state. Four years ago, during the early months of the pandemic, 40% of eligible voters and 49% of registered voters cast a ballot, according to the California secretary of state.
"That's a good number for the primary," Brom said. "We always want more, more participation rate. Roughly at this time, we had 220,000 mail ballots returned for March 2020. And this year we have 245,000."
The deadline to register to vote has passed, but people can still register in person at a voting center and cast a provisional ballot.
Citizens can observe the ballot counting process through glass windows at the Registrar's, where Mylila Martinez worked in years past.
"It's tedious, but it's very important that we check the signatures and make sure that they are being checked thoroughly to make sure that no one is able to do any kind of scams or anything," Martinez said.
Martinez dropped her ballot off Tuesday. She said local issues like housing and education drive her to the dropbox. For 71-year-old Marine Corps veteran Horace Eure, it's the principle that pushes him to the polls.
"My gosh, the only way you're going to be able to have your voice heard is to vote," Eure said.
