Inland Empire Turnout: Midterm participation exceeds 2022 levels
Riverside and San Bernardino counties report higher initial vote counts than the previous midterm, with tens of thousands of ballots still pending.
By Chioma Kuznetsov ·
Voter turnout in the Inland Empire appears higher in the November 3 midterm election than in the 2022 contest, according to data released by county officials. Counts were still rising as of midday on Wednesday, November 4, but early figures already surpassed previous records.
The Registrar of Voters in Riverside County reported a 23% turnout based on 334,076 counted ballots. That total includes 297,825 mailed ballots and 26,251 in-person votes from a registered voter base of approximately 1.4 million. About 485,000 vote-by-mail ballots and 11,000 conditional voter registration ballots remain to be processed in that county.
San Bernardino County reported a 29.3% turnout with all precincts reporting. Workers have counted 366,322 total ballots, comprising 282,137 mail-in votes and 84,185 in-person votes. The county has an estimated 1.2 million registered voters. A statistical report from the Registrar's office noted that the overall turnout in the November 2022 election was 28.99%.
Jennifer Gaudette, a professor in the School of Public Policy at UC Riverside, stated that the numbers indicate more people voted in the current midterms compared to the previous cycle. She observed a large increase in turnout relative to the June primary election.
Gaudette pointed to the volume of ballots returned before Election Day as evidence of higher voter engagement. She suggested that voters may have been more concerned about ensuring their ballots were counted this year than they were in 2022.
