Locals vote early to avoid Election Day long wait times

Filling out and dropping off ballots was definitely on the to do list this weekend for some Monterey County voters.

“You always have to speak up and use your voice,” said voter Dominic DiSilva. “This is a privilege to do so you gotta do it.”

Some people decided to vote on the final Saturday before November 8 th because they have other commitments on Election Day.

“I’m not here during the weekday,” said early voter Brian Rothanberger.

Others wanted to save time.

“I figured I do it early instead of having to wait in lines on the day of,” said DiSilvia.

“There are three cards on the ballot,” said Greta Arevalo with the Monterey County Elections Office. “There may be a longer time for a voter to cast their vote.”

Voters we spoke to said it took anywhere from five minutes up to a half an hour to mark their positions on the 17 state propositions and dozens of candidates.

“It was a long ballot, lot of measures, lot of props,” said Rothanberger. “I had to go through them and think about how I wanted to vote.”

Record breaking registration could also add to the wait time. The California Secretary of State Office said more than 19.4 million Californians are registered to vote. In Monterey County it’s more than 185,000. That’s up nearly 20,000 from 2012.

“I didn’t really like the choices this time around but a lot of the propositions, especially the measures were real important in the county this time,” said Rothanberger. “So I made a point of it.”

Other than voting early, elections officials recommend doing your research and coming to polling places prepared to save time.

“They can use their voter guide and already mark how they intend to vote on the official ballot,” said Arevalo. “Use that technique and bring it with you so it makes it faster of voting.”

Polling sites are also open in Santa Cruz and Watsonville November 5-6 th from 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.