MERCED COUNTY, Calif. (KFSN) — Merced County workers were seen collecting mail-in ballots Monday afternoon.

Registrar of Voters Mel Levey says it’s a busy time with less than 24 hours before the election.

“We had staff working long days every day to staff the vote centers,” Levey said.

He noticed a lot of early voting activity this year.

As of Monday morning, more than 40,000 votes had been cast in the county.

“Our previous highest turnout for Merced County was just under 79% in November 2020. I think even if we don’t break that, we’ll get pretty close to that. That tells us there will be at least 100,000 votes cast for this election,” Levey said.

Merced resident Mike Conway and his wife were just two of dozens of people who voted.

Conway believes it is important to participate in the democratic process.

“I think one of the big issues is women’s right to choose, housing is a big issue and there’s a lot of things on this ballot, basically I think if there’s any issue you’re facing it’s on the ballot this year,” Conway said.

The Federal Reserve announced plans to cut interest rates by a quarter point on Thursday, regardless of what happens during the election.

But future actions may depend on the policies of the next administration.

Whatever the outcome, Conway hopes people will treat each other with kindness.

“The sun will rise on Wednesday, the birds will sing and everything may not be normal, but life will go on,” Conway said.

On Election Day, voting centers throughout the county will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

For voter information, you can go to: district website.