L.A. County voter turnout 'comparable' to 2008-04 levels
About 41% of registered Los Angeles County voters had cast their ballots by 3 p.m. Tuesday, according to a spokeswoman with the county registrar-recorder's office.
That turnout was off the pace of each of the last two presidential elections, officials said. In 2008, about 53% of registered voters had cast their ballots by 3 p.m. In 2004, voter turnout was at about 48%.
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Despite the lower raw percentage, registrar spokeswoman Monica Flores called Tuesday’s turnout “pretty comparable” to other presidential elections and painted a nuanced picture of the data. She said Los Angeles has a record number of registered voters for this election – 4.7 million – so the county may see a larger overall turnout despite drawing a lower percentage of those registered.
Flores said that the 2008 presidential election had unusually high turnout in part because there was no incumbent running and community organizations were highly mobilized. She said each of the last two elections ultimately saw about 80% voter turnout in the county, and Flores expects an uptick in turnout between about 4 and 7 p.m., when voters get off work.
VIDEO: L.A. voters discuss 2012 election
Though the polls have been busy, Flores said, the office was not aware of “any major issues” as of Tuesday afternoon.
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