October 6, 2008 - Early voters turn out in SB County

Paper: Sun, The ( San Bernardino, CA)
Title: Early voters turn out in SB County
Date: October 6, 2008
Author: Wesley G. Hughes, Staff Writer

If you want to be among the largest number of registered voters in San Bernardino County history, go to the Registrar of Voters office before midnight Oct. 20.

That's the registration deadline for this year's presidential election, which is Nov. 4. Registrar Kari Verjil is expecting a record turnout to match the record registration.

Monday was the first day for early voting in the county. A steady stream of 110 voters made the trip to Verjil's office. It's paper ballots for now, but touch screens come online Oct. 18. That option ends Election Day, when it will be paper only except for the handicapped. Touch screens were decertified by California Secretary of State Debra Bowen.

As of Monday, 787,118 voters were registered, almost 50,000 more than the previous high 737,559 set in the 2004 presidential race. Verjil said she expects that to grow rapidly until the deadline.

On Election Day, there will be 551 polling places, 150 more than during electronic voting.