SAN DIEGO (KGTV) - San Diego's election results could be delayed due to a record number of mail-in ballots sent to voters this year.
The San Diego County Registrar of Voters sent out more than 1.1 million mail-in ballots for Tuesday's gubernatorial primary election. There are more than 1.69 million registered voters in San Diego County, according to the Registrar.
With that many mail-in ballots, there may be delays in counting votes. Registrar workers won't be able to begin counting those ballots until Thursday since all the signatures need to be verified first.
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"This is not really a new phenomenon," said Michael Vu, of the Registrar. "We’re just likely to have a higher volume of outstanding ballots."
The Registrar expects about 150,000 to 200,000 mail-in ballots will be dropped off June 5.
When polls close Tuesday, results will come in from ballots that were mailed in, submitted to drop-off locations before Election Day, or cast during early voting of the Registrar. By 11 p.m., precinct numbers should then begin to trickle in.
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Vu says election night may only turn up about 55 to 60 percent of the vote, possibly leaving tight races in the air.
"It’s not over on election night and it hasn’t been for a long, long time,” said Vu. "Close contests are not decided until all the ballots are in the count."
Races must be certified 30 days after Election Day on July 5.
