On Election Day, Many Bay Area Voters Say Presidential Race Is Top of Mind

Updated 3:05 p.m. Tuesday

Bay Area residents are hitting the polls, marking the end of an election that includes contentious races for president, mayors, city council members, as well as several statewide ballot measures and local propositions.

Lines were forming Tuesday morning at some polling centers, and voters donned celebratory “I Voted” stickers as they filed out.

In Oakland, where residents are deciding whether to recall both their mayor and the Alameda County district attorney, a steady trickle of voters filed into the New Parks Chapel AME Church.

“I like to vote in person,” said Oakland resident Ashley Davis. “It gives me a lot of pride in voting, so I wanted to do it in person, day of.”

Davis said she was excited to cast her ballot for Democratic nominee Kamala Harris, and also to weigh in on various state propositions.

“Housing issues here, especially in the Bay Area, I definitely have strong views on that,” she said.

Oakland artist Bethany Deal wore a white blazer — a nod to the suffragettes — red, white and blue sequin earrings, and sparkly shoes to the polling center.

“I’m just trying to put all the positive energy into the world,” she said.

Deal said the race she cares most about is at the very top of the ticket.

“As a woman, I am more than excited to be able to vote for a woman,” she said.

Marcus Parish, who lives within walking distance of the church, said his motivation was to vote on the presidential race as well as Propositions 33, 34 and 36 — which have to do with rent control, prescription drug spending and criminal penalties, respectively.

“It’s such a pivotal moment right now in time, that it’s so important to make your voice heard,” he said.

In San Francisco, where voters are choosing who will lead the city, there was no line at the polling center in the basement of City Hall. Mayor London Breed stopped by the polling center Tuesday morning, as did one of her opponents in the mayoral race, Daniel Lurie, who cast his ballot.

Outside, a handful of proponents of ballot measures and mayoral candidates held signs as voters filed in.

Lauren Freese dropped off her ballot on her way to work. The presidential race was top of mind for her as well.

“It feels very prideful to be voting for Kamala in her hometown Bay Area,” she said.

For Janetzy Dueñas, it’s the first time she’s voting in San Francisco after relocating to the city recently from San Bruno.

“I think the biggest thing for me is reproductive rights,” she said. “I don’t want to have to fear that whoever is going to be in office is going to take that away from not just me, but women everywhere.”

Other voters mentioned top issues including supervisorial races, Proposition K — which would close the city’s Upper Great Highway to vehicles to make it a permanent recreation area — and a desire to make San Francisco more affordable and livable.

In Solano County, where three polling places could lose power Tuesday night due to dangerous fire conditions, things are running smoothly so far, according to Assistant Registrar of Voters John Gardner. Gardner said various teams are continuously checking on different polling locations to ensure the equipment is working properly, and battery power and backup generators are on hand should they need it.

So far, voter turnout across the Bay Area is relatively high, according to county election officials.

“We have a good flow of voters this morning,” said Alameda County Registrar of Voters Tim Dupuis. “We are expecting to reach around 80% turnout for this election.”

In Marin County, election officials say they’ve already received more than half of all registered voters’ ballots. Some vote centers in the county have lines, but none are very long and no issues have been reported so far. Officials expect voter turnout to exceed 80%.

San Francisco has received 43% of registered voters’ ballots, according to Department of Elections Director John Arntz.

Santa Clara County is slightly ahead. The registrar’s office had received 505,000 votes — representing 48% of those registered in the Bay Area’s most populous county — on the morning of Election Day. They’re predicting turnout between 80-85%, which is on par with the county’s 2020 numbers.

“Everything’s been running smoothly,” spokesperson Michael Borha told KQED. “We had a dozen voters lined up at our headquarters voting center when we opened at 7 a.m.”

Ballot processing is already well underway, and the county plans to post its first results at 8:01 p.m., just after polls officially close. After that, officials will release updates hourly.

KQED’s Dana Cronin, Katie DeBenedetti, Sara Hossaini, Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman and Dan Brekke contributed to this report.