Orange County turnout expected to be much higher than usual

SANTA ANA, Calif. (FOX 11 / CNS) - The largest turnout for a midterm election in Orange County in recent memory is expected Tuesday.

Orange County Registrar of Voters Neal Kelley predicted turnout might reach 68 percent, easily besting the 2010 midterm election that was a wave election for Republicans. In 2010, turnout was 55 percent.

Turnout in the last midterm election in 2014 was at 42 percent.

As of Monday night, 390,000 mail-in ballots had been turned in, Kelley said.

And early in-person turnout is "running about 130 percent ahead of the presidential election in 2016,'' Kelley said.

"I've got a line out of the lobby tonight. It's going to be a long night tomorrow,'' Kelley said on Monday. "For a midterm I've never seen it like this. We'd have to go back a long way to be close to that.''

The breakdown by party is about 165,000 Republicans have turned in mail-in ballots and 128,000 Democrats have turned in absentee ballots, Kelley said. About 92,000 no party preference voters have turned in ballots.

Orange County will draw much attention on election night as the chances for the Democratic Party to win back a majority in the House of Representatives may come down to the results here in four competitive races.

Voters will be making choices in a multitude of races from water district boards to mayor to governor and Congress.

Voters will also decide a multitude of measures, including a minimum- wage for hospitality industry jobs in Anaheim that the Walt Disney Co. has opposed.