Surge in Yuma residents voting by mail

Over the past few years, the Yuma County Recorder’s office has seen a spike in early voting ballots being cast.

O ut of all the registered voters in the county, nearly two-thirds of them have their ballots mailed, according to Robyn Stallworth-Pouquette with the Yuma County Recorder’s Office.

Each year, nearly 50 percent of newly registered voters ask to be a part of the permanent early voting list, said Stallworth-Pouquette.

“I think the voters have expressed interest in having the opportunity to research their issues. Any races at home or be able to take their time to vote at a convenient time and location,” she said. “We have a very busy population.”

In Yuma County alone, there are over 87,000 active registered voters. Of that, up to 70 percent are registered for early voting.

So far this year, the county recorder’s office has mailed out more than 59,000 ballots.

During the 2016 presidential election , 76 percent of all registered voters voted with early ballots in Yuma County. Only 24 percent took to the voting centers on Election Day.

The one question asked every year is if people will be able to vote online, Stallworth Pouquette said. She said she’s hopeful one day that will be the case.

If you are interested in voter turnout for imperial county, those numbers can be found here.