80% Voter Turnout Is Expected

An estimated 80% of Orange County’s 1,183,166 registered voters are expected to go to the polls Tuesday, Registrar Don Tanney said. The county’s 2,116 polling places will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

The county registrar of voters office is adding 30 phone lines to help voters who have questions on election day. The number is (714) 567-7600.

There were 650,348 Republicans and 410,644 Democrats registered in the county as of Oct. 11, the final day of registration for Tuesday’s election.

“I’m hoping early projections (by the networks) will not be an issue,” Tanney said. “I think the presidential race is what will draw a large number of people to the voting booth. There is also a lot of interest in the insurance initiatives and, in the county, there are 22 cities electing council members.”

Because of the lengthy ballot, Tanney urges voters to mark their sample ballots to use as a guide in the voting booth.

“There is a state law that says each person is entitled to 10 minutes in the voting booth,” Tanney said. “ . . . We will not throw people out of the booths, but if there is a line we might encourage them along, without being disruptive of the process.”