Tuesday is Election Day, but voters across the country have been casting their ballots for several weeks as millions of mail-in and early in-person ballots pour in every day.

More than 77 million people had voted nationwide as of late Sunday; more than 7 million of them were in California. According to Washington Post.

In Sonoma County, 45% of the nearly 310,000 registered voters had cast their ballots as of Monday afternoon. In Napa County, 44% of the 85,000 registered people voted.

Early turnout rates lag behind the 2020 election, when voting was heavily impacted by pandemic-era changes.

Another potential factor is the wall-to-wall media focus on the seven swing states seen as decisive in the presidential election, said John Tuteur, Napa County voter registrar. California is not one of them.

Still, Sonoma County Registrar of Voters Deva Marie Proto said she expects an 85-90% turnout in the county based on historical patterns. This rate generally puts the district well above statewide turnout.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if it was lower than 2020, when turnout exceeded 90%,” he said in an email Monday.

In Napa County, Tuteur expects turnout to be less than 86.4% in the 2020 general election.

For those who have not voted, polling stations in Sonoma and Napa counties are open until 5 p.m. on Monday. On Election Day, these centers will be open from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. This is one of the voting centers.

Here is a link to the location of 31 Sonoma County voting centers.

Here is a link to the eight vote centers in Napa County.

Even those who haven’t registered yet have a last-minute option. While the standard voter registration deadline is October 21, citizens who still wish to register can do so by filling out a conditional voter registration envelope at Registrar of Voter offices in Sonoma and Napa or at any vote center during Election Day.

“People should try to get in as soon as possible,” Proto said.

Election officials said election offices are processing conditional registration and will count votes if the voter is eligible and has not yet voted. The California Secretary of State’s website has more information about same-day voter registration.

The state is also giving voters a way to know when their mail ballot has been received and counted, with options to be notified by email, text or phone. go here Sign up for ballot status notifications. F

This Election Day also falls on: red flag warning signals the beginning Several days of critical fire weather expected to continue through Thursday and bring possible power outages.

Pacific Gas & Electric Co. he said: Planned outages “likely” this week Starting Tuesday in a number of California counties, including Lake, Napa and Sonoma. Lake, Mendocino, Napa and Sonoma counties will likely experience closures on Wednesday and Thursday. (Here’s how to check if you’ll be affected by planned outages.Y

Proto said local vote centers do not fall within the blackout zones, so voting should not be affected.

“Based on the maps we’ve seen, vote centers will not be affected,” he said, adding that county emergency personnel are in close contact with PG&E officials.

Tuteur said PG&E notified his office about possible closures, but he was not given a specific map of where safety cuts were planned. He said he was told it wouldn’t happen after 8 p.m., and he didn’t expect Napa’s main elections office to be affected.

“It won’t be in downtown Napa,” he said.

In any case, Tuteur recommended that people vote early. “Vote early to avoid queues at our voting centers,” he said. “But we are ready to deliver you until 20.00”

If you’re still in line at 8 p.m., state law requires you to be allowed to vote, he said. He said anyone trying to queue after 8pm would be “kicked out”.

After polls close: What to expect for results?

Californians will still vote when polls close on the East Coast and the first counties begin reporting poll results at 5 p.m. Pacific time.

But officials warned it could take days to find out who won the presidency. While polls have historically shown a tight race, the closer the preliminary results are, the longer it takes to establish a decisive margin in the Electoral College, allowing news organizations to project a winner.

In 2020, it took four days for major media outlets, including the Associated Press, to make the call in favor of President Joe Biden. Pennsylvania, Arizona and Nevada, the three longest swing states in this election, may be factors in the long wait for projections this year as well.According to the Washington Post.

It may be easier to determine which parties control the House and Senate on election night or shortly thereafter.

It’s also a mixed bag in terms of statewide and local outcomes; The first of these will be posted on the Secretary of State’s Office and county election offices’ websites shortly after 8 p.m.

Tuteur, the Napa County voter registrar, said the first unofficial results of mail-in ballots received by Sunday will be released at 8:01 p.m. on election night.

The county then plans to release an unofficial tally of in-person votes received during early voting since Oct. 7 and on Election Day before 10 p.m., Tuteur said. Tuteur said an unofficial release of in-person voting results will be made before midnight on Election Day.

Proto said the results of early in-person voting ahead of Election Day and primary voting over the weekend (and possibly Monday) will be released immediately after voting ends at 8 p.m. on Tuesday.

He said periodic updates will follow after the polls close, depending on how quickly ballots are processed.

“We will have updates — we don’t know when, it depends on when the ballots come back to our office from the vote centers,” Proto told The Press Democrat on Friday. “We will continue to update until we receive all ballots back from vote centers.”

Reach Staff Writer Martin Espinoza at 707-521-5213 or [email protected]. @pressreno on Twitter.