San Diego voter turnout is at 27% a week before Election Day
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It's less than a week until Election Day. Do you know where your ballot is?
Driving the news: 27% of San Diego County voters have already cast their ballots as of Tuesday afternoon, according to tracking from Political Data Inc.(PDI), a campaign information firm.
- The 536,875 ballots returned so far trails the 715,786 cast by this point in 2020, which set turnout records.
Why it matters: Voter turnout overall, and within specific demographic groups, can determine election outcomes.
The big picture: 50 million Americans have already voted, about half as many at the same time in 2020.
Yes, but: PDI cautions against using its early vote tracker to forecast election results.
- Low early voting returns within a group may simply indicate they're more likely to vote on Election Day, Nov. 5.
By the numbers: In the city of San Diego — where Mayor Todd Gloria is facing police officer Larry Turner — 26% of voters have cast their ballots, with 50% of those coming from Democrats, 26% from Republicans and 25% from independents.
- Of those ballots, 65% came from white voters, 19% came from Latinos, 13% from Asian voters and 5% from Black voters.
- The ballots returned so far are disproportionately from older voters, with 43% from people over 65, and another 25% from those between 50 and 64.
- Men and women represent an equal share of the ballots cast so far.
Between the lines: Turnout is higher in the county's District 3, where County Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer is facing former Mayor Kevin Faulconer.
- 31% of voters in that coastal district have returned ballots, with 45% of those coming from Democrats, 31% from Republicans and 26% from independents.
- District 3 ballots so far are slightly older and whiter than those returned throughout the city — unsurprisingly, since the district is older and whiter than the city — but women voters have a slight edge among ballots cast so far.