Registrar Predicts Voter Turnout Will Be Low Tuesday

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Early evidence points to a low turnout in the county for tomorrow's primary election, according to the San Diego County Registrar of Voters.

Through Saturday, 2,212 people had walked into the registrar's office in Kearny Mesa to cast ballots, compared to 8,535 in the same period two years ago, Registrar Deborah Seiler said.

Of those, . She said that is also less than the Saturday before election day in previous years.

"This will be a low turnout election," Seiler told. "I expect about 40 percent."

She said figures for 2008 were not applicable for comparison, because primaries were split between February and June.

The lack of a competitive presidential primary in either major party was a contributing factor, according to Seiler. .

Of around 761,000 mail ballots sent to San Diego voters, 245,363 had been returned by the middle of today, or around 32 percent, she said.

The apparent lack of interest comes despite some close races. Four experienced candidates are vying to be San Diego's next mayor, two city propositions pit conservative interests against organized labor, two congressional races could be close and .

Numerous and are in contention as well, including those representing Coronado.

Polls open at 7 a.m. and close at 8 p.m. The first batch of results is expected to be released just after the polls close.

San Diego's traditional election central event at Golden Hall at Civic Center Plaza will be held late into the evening.

– City News Service