Early voting picks up across Bay Area as Election Day approaches

Election officials across the Bay Area are reporting an increase in ballot returns as voters make their final decisions ahead of Election Day.

A steady stream of voters dropped off ballots outside San Francisco City Hall on Monday, while election workers prepared for what they expect will be the busiest day of the election cycle.

Statewide, about 18% of California's 23 million registered voters have returned their ballots so far, according to election officials and analysts. In San Francisco, turnout is running slightly ahead of the statewide pace, with nearly 20% of registered voters having already cast ballots.

Officials say the bulk of voting is still expected to occur on Election Day.

"This is going to be an election where the majority of the turnout is going to be on election day at this point. You could tell at the beginning of the election cycle that the activity the participation was going to happen closer to election day but now you can say it'll happen on election day," said John Arntz, San Francisco's director of elections.

In Alameda County, election officials said turnout is tracking closely with statewide trends and reminded voters to carefully complete their mail ballots before returning them.

"Please make sure, as a reminder, to sign your return envelope on the back. Those signatures are verified with the signature that we have on file," said Cynthia Cornejo, the county's interim registrar of voters. "The other thing that is very important, all of our processing is live streamed."

Voters weigh candidates and ballot measures

For many voters, the final days before the election have been spent researching candidates and making last-minute decisions.

"There's so many candidates and I think I tried to read more about those candidates and whose better. Until last night I found someone I was really rooting for," said San Francisco voter Rico Alamsyah.

Some voters said they have been closely following the race for governor, where candidates have traded places in polls throughout the campaign.

"I hope that it's two Democrats. I think they're both okay candidates. They're maybe not as flashy, and you know, I don't know the mostly articulate people that we've ever seen, but I think they're both solid candidates," said voter Joyce Williams.

"I think Swalwell dropped out, and then that kind of changed. It seemed like every week a different candidate was the frontrunner, and now I think Becerra was the last one. It's very interesting to watch the close race," said voter Ivan Garcia.

Others said local propositions and economic issues were top of mind as they filled out their ballots.

"What caught my eye was Prop D, regarding taxes going up, a lot of people won't be able to afford food, medicines, things that are [necessary] for their lifestyle," said Gloria Carter.

Some voters said broader concerns about income inequality also influenced their decisions.

"I wish we had fewer billionaires and more other people were getting more of the money that goes to billionaires. I think the way the things are working out are not so good," said Margaret Levitt.

Election officials in both San Francisco and Alameda County reported no significant issues or long lines Monday. Polls statewide open at 7 a.m. Tuesday and close at 8 p.m.