Mail-in voting has become the most popular way in San Diego County to participate in the election process. But some, like Chris Courter, still prefer to vote in person.

The 59-year-old Santee man was among a slow but steady stream of early voters who showed up at one of the county’s 39 vote centers that opened Saturday.

The vote “impacts our country — the economy and the politics of everybody,” Courter said outside the San Diego Registrar of Voters building in Kearny Mesa. “The advantage of a democracy is that you have a vote and you have a voice, and you should take advantage of that.”

Election Day is Nov. 5, but voters who want to make their selections in person or drop off their ballots by mail before then can visit the 39 polling centers, which will be open daily between 8 a.m. and 17:00.

Starting next Saturday, November 2, more than 200 polling stations will be open between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.

On Election Day, each polling center will host extended hours from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Polling station locations, complete with maps, can be found at sdvote.com.

“We provide the options, we make voter registration as easy as possible,” said San Diego County Clerk of Voters Cynthia Paes“Our goal is to communicate those options and then voters can participate as they wish.”

As part of California Voter’s Choice Actballots are sent to voters approximately 30 days before the election. Paes said mail-in voting has been a feature in the Golden State for decades, but by 2010 there was a “shift” where more voters preferred mail-in voting, “and it’s been growing ever since.”

In 2020, more than 1.4 million San Diego County ballots came in the mailcompared to less than 190,000 voters who physically went to the polls.

“San Diego County voters have preferred this method for some time, so we’ve scaled up our systems to accommodate that demand,” Paes said.

The registrar’s office has increased its staff to 4,500 election workers, including election workers, for this election.

Christopher Hamilos, a 29-year-old from National City, voted for the first time Saturday because he believes this year’s election is crucial.

“This (election) is a rift here,” he said. “It’s very important who we have in office.”

His friend, Raul Rivera, accompanied him to the polls.

“Not voting is doing nothing,” said Rivera, a Navy petty officer. “If you have opinions about something, then vote. That’s the only way your opinion matters.”

The three voting options are:

• Vote by mail.
• Place the ballot in an official ballot box.
• Vote in person at any polling center in the county.

To vote by mail at home, sign and date the return envelope, seal the completed ballot inside, and return it promptly by mail to ensure it reaches the registrar’s office before November 5th.

To send a ballot, seal it in its return envelope and take it to one of the registrar’s 150 official ballot boxes. Standalone boxes have the Registrar’s logo with the San Diego County seal and are labeled “Official Ballot Drop Box.”

Most drop boxes are available 24/7. All will close at 8pm on November 5th. Locations can be found on the sdvote.com website.

As of 11 a.m. Saturday, the clerk’s office reported that just over 800 voters had cast their ballots in person at the county’s 39 polling places.

“We noticed in the first few days that it’s kind of slow,” Paes said. “We have noticed that there is a large group in San Diego County who are still waiting until Election Day to go to the polls, so we continue to encourage voters not to wait until the last minute to go to the polls.”

Historically, voter turnout is high in presidential election years in San Diego. In 2020, the registrar reported 83.45% participation of registered voters. According to Paes, voter turnout was 81% in the 2016 election and around 77% in 2012.

Paes said voter turnout in the November 2014 general election for governor in San Diego County was just 44 percent.

“People turn out in presidential years and then go quiet in gubernatorial years, which is unfortunate because critical local contests on the ballot are being ignored,” Paes said.

Luis Ortiz of La Mesa, who voted in person Saturday, said he votes regularly, but not out of a sense of pride.

“It’s not a proud thing to vote,” the 52-year-old said. “In fact, it’s your duty to vote… In fact, probably the least you can do is engage in the voting process and research your ideals (and) fight for them.”

If you want to make sure your mail-in vote was received, it can be confirmed at sd.vote.com or tracked through the US Postal Service by registering at “Where’s my ballot.”