Election Day sees strong voter turnout in Vallejo, according to poll workers

VALLEJO – Poll workers at several different voting locations in Vallejo reported that they’re seeing a strong voter turnout and that everything has been running smoothly as of midday Tuesday.

Angelina Joya, a Vallejo deputy city clerk, was one of the poll workers at John F. Kennedy library, and she said they’ve been seeing a steady stream of voters coming in and dropping off their ballots or voting in person, despite heavy rain.

“We’ve been hearing nothing but positive energy from people wanting to vote,” she said.

She added that they’re also seeing a few people use curbside voting, which is available at same-day polling places for those who are unable to walk inside to cast a ballot. The voters fill out the ballot in their car, and then call the poll workers to submit it. 

“We had one person call. She has COVID, so she doesn’t want to come in here,” Joya said. “So we do this whole process because we want to make sure that everyone has the ability to submit a vote. Just because they’re sick or have some type of disability, that shouldn’t impede them from voting.” 

When asked if they had concerns about protestors or federal immigration officers showing up to intimidate voters at the polls, Joya said they were all trained by the county registrar of voters on how to deal with those situations. She added that the county said they did not expect to see that kind of activity. 

Federal agents can’t legally police polling places, and on Nov. 3 Gov. Gavin Newsom posted that they would “arrest and prosecute” any agent who tried. 

At the Norman C. King South Vallejo Community Center, Inspector John Holmes said that they had so many people coming in that they put out more chairs so people could sit down and take their time going through the four-page ballot.

“I’m noticing that they’re taking a little bit longer, so I get the feeling that people are actually going through the ballots today instead of just pre-deciding,” he said. 

He added that they’ve had some people come in to vote for the first time, as well as a good number of younger voters. 

“We’re very happy to see that,” Holmes said. “It’s exciting to see people get engaged and want to do this. One of the things we try to tell them is that this is the time everybody’s got an equal voice, so make sure you use it.” 

Two poll workers noted that this year has also been calmer compared to past election cycles and they haven’t had to have any confrontations so far. For example, they both said that during the 2024 election, they had to ask a few voters to turn their shirts inside out, as they showed up wearing political candidate T-shirts, which isn’t allowed at polling places in California.

Some poll workers voiced concern about the morning bomb threat in downtown Vallejo, as there were suspicions that it targeted the office of U.S. Rep. John Garamendi, who is up for re-election. Police said that their investigation revealed no threat, and the warning stemmed from a miscommunication.

Goodie Nacionales, a poll worker at the nearby Filipino Cultural Center, said that one voter walked from the area and asked to vote at the cultural center instead, after seeing several streets closed off to traffic in the downtown area. 

“He was pretty shaken,” Nacionales said. 

Still, all five poll workers that we spoke to confirmed that things were going well at each of their individual polling places.

Patrick Marquez, who has worked at different sites for nine elections and was overseeing voting at Wayside United Methodist Church, said that Election Day is always challenging for the poll workers, but that they find a way to keep up the energy and make sure the elections are safe and secure. 

“It’s a long day, but we’re trying to get something done for everybody, and that’s what it comes down to,” Marquez said. 

Residents can vote in person or drop off their ballots until 8 p.m. tonight. You can find your individual polling place at vote.ca.gov.