Early voters in Orange County see shorter wait times

SANTA ANA, Calif. (KABC) -- While early voters in Los Angeles County waited hours to cast their ballots, the wait in Orange County was typically less than an hour.

Some locations in Orange County offered drive through ballot drop offs, allowing voters to fill out their ballots ahead of time and drop it off.

"I did my research and I had my cheat sheet with me so I was ready," Nicole Bovey Alhakawati of Anaheim said. "I brought a book because I thought there would be a long line and there was no line."

Nearly 1 million vote-by-mail ballots were sent out early to Orange County residents, which officials said was a record.

"Vote-by-mail ballots, as of today (Monday), we have almost 50 percent return, which is great," Orange County Registrar of Voters Neal Kelly said. "And then on early voting we have about 3,000 people who have voted, just since Oct. 29."

Officials said they expected fewer in person voters in comparison to 2012.

Voters looking to cast a ballot on Election Day and not wait in long lines were urged to avoid the peak times, which are 7 to 9 a.m. and 5 to 8 p.m.

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