@SFist Marina at 7:30 this morning. #ElectionDay #IVOTED pic.twitter.com/DDviCyFu9V
— KWolf (@Wolfkenn) November 8, 2016
Though early voting was at an all time high in San Francisco this year, that doesn't mean that your polling place will be empty but for some tumbleweeds. With a voter turnout as high as 80 percent predicted in some Bay Area cities and a long-ass set of state and local propositions to connect the lines on, lengthy lines of folks eager to cast their votes are expected. So, to all you day-of voters — have you ventured out to vote yet today? What was it like?
@SFist wasn't crowded at 16th & hoff, but in the 20 minutes i was there, four voters were turned away b/c they weren't correctly registered.
— Sam Duboff (@duboff) November 8, 2016
"San Francisco polling places citywide are open for voters from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m." today, SF's Department of Elections reminded the media in an email sent this morning. And if you arrive at 7:59 p.m., don't worry, as "any voter who is in line when the polls close at 8 p.m. is allowed to vote," they say. Just make sure you're in the right line, and confirm the location of your polling place at sfelections.org/pollsite or by calling (415) 554-4375.
All voters, regardless of voting place, can also cast their ballot at the City Hall Voting Center on the ground floor of City Hall. Early voters who still haven't mailed their ballots can also drop theirs off at the DoE's Ballot Drop-off Stations outside the entrances to City Hall or at any SF polling place. (You can still mail them, too, but they need to be postmarked with today's date and arrive by Monday November 14.)
The DoE tells the Chron that "More than 30 percent of registered voters in San Francisco have already submitted their ballot, the highest percentage of early voting in the city’s history." By Sunday night, 154,007 of the city's 513,444 registered voters had already sent theirs in. 345,575 total vote-by-mail ballots were issues, they say.
"I think we'll have the second highest number of people voting in the city's history in this election, November 2008 was the highest," DoE director John Arntz told ABC 7, with 81 percent voting that year.
Arntz tells the Chron that he expects turnout to "be above 73 percent but I don’t know if it gets to 81 percent."
Preliminary local election results will start rolling out at 8:45 tonight, with updates ongoing until the races are called. You have a multitude of options to follow the SF race, the DoE writes:
sfelections.org - all results reports will be posted on the Department’s website, with a link to statewide results on the Secretary of State’s websiteSan Francisco Government Television - SFGTV, Channel 26, will report summary results throughout the night as a banner during SFGTV programming
City Hall, North Light Court - a large screen will display SFGTV programming that will show summary results; printed copies of the summary results reports will be available at approximately 8:45 p.m., with updates available at approximately 9:45 p.m., 10:45 p.m., and 11:30 p.m.
Department of Elections, City Hall, Room 48 - printed copies of results reports will be available at the Department’s front counter (due to their length, the preliminary Statement of the Vote will not be printed).
On Twitter @sfelections and Facebook.com/sfelections
But I'm getting ahead of myself — right now, I'm wondering what things are like on the ground for voters casting ballots in their local polling places. How was it where you voted? Tell your tale in the comments, drop me a line, or send pictures (no ballot selfies, please! Keep it legal!) to [email protected], and I'll continuously update this report with what I'm hearing.
@SFist I waited in line for the first time ever! And proudly!!!
— carriedawaysf (@CarrieSwing) November 8, 2016
Related: Here's What You Need To Know Before Voting For The Dozens Of State And Local Propositions