Currently, 1,511,522 vote-by-mail ballots have been cast in California and a large portion of them are from L.A. County.
With election day approaching fast, Californians have wasted no time in casting their vote. While mail-in voting has been a contentious issue, with many questioning the accuracy of it, it has not deterred the West Coast. According to the state, over 1.5 million mail-in votes have been cast in the state, which is the highest amount in any state at this stage of the election. L.A. County accounts for at least 369,851 of that total, according to Monday’s count by the L.A. County registrar office.
UPDATE: 1,511,522 Vote-by-mail ballots have been returned in California! At this time in 2016, this number was around 150,000. Make sure you make a plan to #vote & #voteearly! Track your ballot here: https://t.co/MZGdMt2bKP #VoteSafeCA #VoteCalifornia pic.twitter.com/KURnNkgozd
— CA SOS Vote (@CASOSvote) October 14, 2020
The surging mail-in numbers may be due to the exhausting lines at in-person polling stations (which also pose multiple safety risks, including the spread of the virus), many are opting for the more convenient and safer option.
However, the early voting trend is not limited to California. Michael McDonald, a professor at the University of Florida, has created an early vote tracker called the U.S. Elections Project, which tracks live data and statistics and represents if visually on an interactive map. According to the map, over 15 million votes have been cast, with the swing state Florida leading the way at almost 2 million. The data also shows that Democrats are returning ballots at a higher rate than Republicans.
If you haven’t registered to vote, you still have until October 19. You can find out more information about registering here.
Meanwhile, California Republican Party refuses to remove the unsanctioned ballot boxes appearing across the state.
[Featured Image: Tiffany Tertipes via Unsplash]