Ballots are still being counted from Tuesday's election at the San Diego County Registrar of Voters, and there's a long way to go.
"Over half a million votes are still left to be considered before we certify the election," said Registrar of Voters Michael Vu. "Voters should not think that election night is the final end-all, be-all. There are a series of days, after Election Day, for us to consider many more ballots that need to be added into the count."
There are more than 800 seasonal employees now working at the registrar's office, sorting, inspecting and tallying election ballots. Vu said the large number of local races and propositions on the ballot means it's similar to counting the votes for two elections.
"In this election it's not an ordinary presidential election because we had a two-card ballot. So we had essentially doubled the entire amount of work needed to be done to get everything into the count before the election is certified," he said.
And that's why there are some elections that are still too close to call. Voter turnout, Vu said, will ultimately be very strong in San Diego County, with more than 80 percent of registered voters coming out to vote.
"One of the amazing things with this election is that it's going to rival the 2008 presidential turnout," he said. "It's perhaps more in terms of the raw number of voters than had participated in the election then. That's an astounding number when you consider it."
He has 30 days following Election Day to certify the vote.
