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Politics

A How-To Guide For San Diego County's 1.5 Million Voters

Registrar gearing up for busy Tuesday with more registered voters this year than before the 2008 presidential primary

A How-To Guide For San Diego County’s 1.5 Million Voters
The San Diego County registrar of voters is gearing up for a busy election Tuesday. Some 1.5 million residents registered to vote — more than were registered in advance of the 2008 presidential primary.

The KPBS voter registration tracker shows 22,103 San Diego County residents signed up to vote in the final days leading up to the deadline. The county's swelling voter rolls could mean a high turnout for Tuesday's election.

Now 1,523,251 residents are registered to vote. That's more than were registered in advance of the 2008 presidential primary, when 61 percent of voters turned out to the polls.

And many of the new registrants are Democrats — up 72,000 since January — suggesting there's high interest in the Democratic presidential race.

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"For presidential election years, we always see a high number of individuals registering to vote. In fact, since January of this year, we've added over 106,000 registered voters," said county Registrar of Voters Michael Vu. "I think the main question that we should be asking ourselves now is are those individuals going to go out and vote?"

Vu is counting on it. He's added 100 voting precincts and will have up to 8,000 poll workers on hand.

Here's how you can join the potentially large swell of voters:

1. Make sure you're registered

You must have registered by May 23 to be eligible to vote in the June 7 primary. If you don’t remember whether you’re registered, check online or call (858) 565-5800.

If you're registered as a Republican or Democrat, you'll get the corresponding ballot at the polls. If you're registered with no party preference, you can request a nonpartisan, Democratic, American Independent or Libertarian ballot at the polls.

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2. Read up on the candidates and the issues

In addition to the presidential primary races, voters will be asked to decide who will replace Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer in the U.S. Senate, and on various local offices and ballot measures.

See what will be on your ballot by entering your address into the KPBS Voters Guide. The guide is a joint project of the nonprofit Maplight, the League of Women Voters of California Education Fund and KPBS. It will link to stories on the candidates and issues from KPBS and other news outlets.

3. Vote

If you want to vote early, you can vote at the registrar's office from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, Sunday and Monday. The office is at 5600 Overland Ave. in San Diego.

If you're heading to the polls Tuesday, you can look up your polling location online. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

If you're a mail-in voter, your ballot must be postmarked by Tuesday and received by the registrar by Friday to be counted. Vu recommends dropping it off at one of 23 locations throughout the county, or at a polling place on Tuesday.

How to Use the KPBS Voters Guide

The 2024 primary election is March 5. Find in-depth reporting on each race to help you understand what's on your ballot.