Voters in Southern California faced long lines and sometimes hours-long waits on Election Day

Voters in Southern California faced long lines, sometimes waiting for hours, to cast their ballots on Election Day.

In Orange County, the wait time at UC Irvine was four hours and election officials there had to use a mobile voting center to accommodate turnout, according to OC Registrar of Voters Bob Page. He said the wait was so long because poll workers were encountering many new voters who were taking longer to register. Some polling places in Ventura County also saw particularly long lines, with election officials reporting as of 6:40 p.m. that more than 28,000 people had voted in person on Election Day.

“The lines are long, but stay in line,” said the Ventura County Clerk Recorder on X. “If you get in line at 8 p.m., you can still vote. Voting centers remain open as long as it takes the last voter to arrive. vote in line before 8 p.m.!”

In Los Angeles County, more than 1.6 million people voted by mail, while another 533,600 cast ballots in person, according to the LA County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk. More than 67,000 people in the county had already voted Friday, election officials said.

Amid concerns about potential threats to election security and the safety of poll workers, there have been efforts across the U.S. to tighten security measures. In Southern California, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California led the preparations. cooperate with the local police to prevent threats of violence against poll workers, violations of voter rights, and violations of election security. FBI agents were on call at field offices throughout the region.

In Los Angeles County, Sheriff Robert Luna said the law enforcement agency was prepared to respond to and investigate allegations of election-related crimes.

“Everyone is talking about how this election is so controversial and that fear is increasing,” Luna said. “I can’t tell you how many community meetings I’ve been to where community members were concerned about their safety. So we want to make sure that people feel safe voting – that it’s no different here in LA County than anywhere else. Actually, hopefully it’s better.”