Early voting centers open in San Diego

SAN DIEGO (NBC, KYMA) - As the nation counts down to Election Day, San Diego voters have one more way to make their voices heard.

The first wave of voting centers opened Saturday with the option to cast ballots early and in-person.

Pickleball was more popular than politics Saturday morning at the Kearny Mesa Recreation Center as it is one of the more than 40 voting centers now open across San Diego County where residents can vote early in person.

"I'm a very busy person. As you can see I play a lot of pickleball," said Minhtuyen Mai, who has a passion for both sports and supporting candidates she believes in.

"I really love the mail in ballot…you can do it at home and then take it to the ballot drop off box," Mai shared.

When asked if she has already dropped off her ballot, Mai said, "Yes."

Residents can also drive by and drop off a ballot and there's curbside service too where you vote from the privacy of your car with the help of an election worker.

Overnight, another 40,000 mail in ballots were collected. They will be the first votes counted after polls close Election Night.

"We use strict chain of custody…and access controls. We verify every single signature from every mail in ballot, and when you check in to a vote center we already know if a ballot has been received or not," said Shawn Brom, San Diego County Registrar of Voters.

Brom said anyone can come here to county headquarters any time just to observe the ballot process as it is happening.

Next weekend on Halloween, many more of these voting centers will open in additional locations.

One more thing: Guide dogs could someday be part of the process as they are not affiliated with any political party or politician.

"There's a lot of rumors…so all we're doing is bringing puppies that will calm you down and give you courage to exercise your rights," said Jude Litzenberger with the Guide Dogs of America.