Trends toward early voting are emerging before Election Day

ORINDA, California. – Almost 70 million people have already cast their votes, more than a third of the total number of voters four years ago.

Several Bay Area counties, including Contra Costa County, are reporting high early voting turnout.

Voters cast their ballots Saturday morning in front of Orinda City Hall.

Josh Witherspoon said he typically votes early to avoid possible limits on Election Day.

He is one of the approximately 6 million Californians who voted early.

“I think human decency is probably our biggest concern,” Witherspoon said of his biggest concerns. “We have a daughter and we're raising our daughter, and I think it's pretty easy to have a leader who cares more about the country than himself, and I think it's pretty easy to figure out who this person is.”

“Women’s rights, abortion and public school funding,” said Moraga resident Katrina Harrar. “Israel is a big issue.”

“Prices at the gas station, prices at the grocery store, job rates, employment rates, those are pretty important issues to me,” said Neil Pretlow of Orinda.

Although early in-person voting is breaking records in some battleground states like North Carolina and Georgia, early voter turnout isn't quite as high as it was in 2020 due to the pandemic.

This time, according to many voters we spoke with, including Ruth Levitch of Berkeley, the stakes are higher.

“We have friends who are canvassing, friends who are writing postcards, everyone is concerned,” she said. “Definitely engaged, but very worried.”

Four years ago, Democrats had a big advantage over Republicans in early voting, but that gap is narrowing this time.

The high voter turnout this year is partly a response to the Trump campaign encouraging early voting.

In California, slightly more Republican postal voters have returned their ballots compared to the Democrats.

“I cast my vote as soon as my ballot arrived in the mail. I just want my opinion to come out and be heard and counted. It’s practical, so that was an important factor for me,” Pretlow said.

According to early voting results, women outnumbered men in early voting this year.

In California, the first mail-in voting results will be posted on the state's website shortly after polls close on November 5 at 8 p.m.